MITA honors its volunteers

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I’ll tell you about a fun outing I had earlier in the week, but first I’d like to bring you up to date on the Maine Island Trail Association that had its annual meeting and stewardship party Thursday evening at the Rockport Boat Club.

For those not familiar with the trail, here’s how MITA describe itself: “The Maine Island Trail is a 325-mile-long waterway that consists of islands and mainland sites that are available for day visits or overnight camping. Through partnerships with the State of Maine, as well as land trusts and generous private property owners, MITA ensures access to these sites for visitors in kayaks, sailboats, motorboats, and other watercraft.”

“As the organization celebrates its 16th birthday it is looking ahead in the next five years to continue the organization’s commitment to public access to islands on our coast, stewardship of those islands [a mix of 45 state-owned and a similar number of privately owned islands] and public education on the culture, heritage, and caring for these jewels,” Jeremy Wintersteen, board chairman, told members.

“We’d like to see every boater on the coast of Maine become a MITA member and learn all we know about stewardship and conservation,” he said.

As for the health of MITA, Wintersteen said that despite a tough economic climate, the past year has been OK, partly because a few of the staff moved on to other jobs and their positions were not filled. Looking ahead, MITA will be looking to hire a chief operating officer and will soon move to a new office at the Portland Yacht Services Building. The move will allow MITA to consolidate its administrative services now split between the Rockland and Portland.

As for the “health” of the trail’s islands, Karen Stimpson, executive director, said that while it is a little early to make an accurate assessment (island log books are not collected until later in September), it looks as if overall use is down a little this summer, probably because of the lousy weather. With less use comes less impact, and that’s good news. The Casco Bay caretaker has worked out well for another year and there are thoughts of putting one in the Stonington area. Caretakers supplement the island stewards and help spread the word of conservation and Leave No Trace directly to those who are using the islands.

Historically the organization has partnered with the Bureau of Parks and Lands to manage the public islands on the trail. Stephen Spencer, an outdoor recreation specialist with the bureau, has been the link since MITA’s inception. He told members Thursday that the next step in island stewardship is developing a scientific way to monitor user impact. There is not much scientific data available, he said, but thanks to the work of Natalie Springuel of Maine Sea Grant, the bureau is beginning to assemble a “tool box” for monitoring protocol, which, Spencer said, could be used for the islands and other recreational areas as well.

Looking ahead, Stimpson said, MITA is considering other stewardship partnerships with such organizations as Friends of Maine Seabird Islands and Kennebec River Historic Waterways.

The highlight of the evening was the annual recognition of volunteers who have helped MITA over the past year and thanks to island owners who have opened their property for use by the organization’s members.

Island monitors (monitors use MITA workboats to check weekly on islands) Deb and Ted Clark of Gardiner were presented the 2004 Monitor Award.

My paddling buddies Dave and Deb Morrill of Orrington as well as Jon and Charlotte Lawton of Bangor were given the Cleanup Award for their Herculean efforts in the first-time cleanup of Green Island east of Schoodic. They gathered 20 huge bags of trash from the island.

Daniel Smith of Somerville, Mass., and John McMurray of Addison won the Adopter Award for their diligent efforts in checking on their islands.

John Lehmus of Kennebunk was honored with the Outreach Award for recruiting volunteers to staff MITA booths at several shows.

Natalie Springuel received a big pat on the back for her groundwork in developing a long-term monitoring program for the islands. Scotty Folger of Orono and Rob and Emlen Cabot were honored for their tireless contributions to MITA over the long haul.

And the 2004 Margaret C. Emerson Award, MITA’s highest honor, was presented to Morris Hancock of Freeport. The award recognizes the volunter who has demonstrated “commitment time and time again by providing outstanding service on behalf of Maine islands.” And by the testimonials given by the staff, his calming, gentle presence is always welcome in the office.

And now to this week’s outing.

Tuesday evening’s sunset had to rank right up there among the best this summer – ever!

And I had a front-row seat in my kayak in the middle of Pushaw Lake for the most spectacular display of oranges, reds, pinks, grays, blues, and everything between.

There were just enough clouds to provide the canvas for a masterpiece, and as I paddled north the colors flowed, morphing slowly from one vibrant color to another until a brilliant pink faded mostly to gray, leaving trees silhouetted black in the foreground. Even after sunset a subtle color show continued, moving slowly toward the northern horizon.

I couldn’t have asked for a better show.

If you’re a paddler and haven’t paddled at night, put it on your list of things to do.

While sitting at water level in a kayak puts you in touch with the environment (quite literally), paddling at night heightens your senses and the experience.

I wouldn’t plan on heading out at night without some basic safety equipment and most of all a good comfort level with your paddling and self-rescue skills. In other words, don’t do it if you’re new to the sport. And as usual, go with someone else. And be sure to tell someone where you’re going and when you’ll return.

In addition to your typical safety equipment (PFD, paddle float, spray skirt, pump, audible signaling devices, something to drink and eat, spare clothing, etc.) a flashlight is a must. You must have a flashlight to shine at other boats on the water. It would be prudent to have another light you could turn on and leave on so you can be seen from all angles. I prefer one with a 360-degree lens I can hang on a short lanyard from the back of my PFD. That way a boat coming up from behind might be able to see me.

And keep your ears open for other boats that might be on the water. Motor boats are supposed to display a 360-degre white light on the stern and red and green running lights at night, but that’s not always guaranteed. If you hear a boat, be sure to shine your flashlight at the noise to attract the operator’s attention.

With the days getting shorter (two hours since June 21), evening paddles are back on my agenda since there’s usually this thing called work occupying a major portion of daylight hours.

As Tuesday wound down I was having paddling withdrawal symptoms. I needed to get out, so at the last minute I called fellow paddler Robert Causey at work, twisted his arm for about a tenth of a second, and we agreed to meet at Gould’s Landing at Pushaw Lake at 7 p.m. The weather this week was unusually fine (for this summer), the air was crisp and clear, and the temperature was T-shirt comfortable, probably because the water was radiating the day’s heat from its surface.

I got to the landing a little ahead of Causey, so I had a chance to explore for a few minutes. My reward was spying a rather large turtle (a snapper?) not too far from the public beach. It had to be just over a foot in length and paused on the surface for about 15 seconds before slipping beneath the water. The rest of the evening’s wildlife entertainment was provided by numerous loons and a small group of gulls.

Jeff Strout can be reached at 990-8202 or by e-mail at jstrout@bangordailynews.net.