Development threatens sanctuary tranquility Birdsacre refuge under siege

ELLSWORTH – Like the dozens of injured birds that retire there, the half-century-old Cordelia Stanwood Wildlife Sanctuary can’t help but feel like it’s had its wings clipped.

The 200-acre rectangular swath of land tucked in off Route 3 in the Beckwith Triangle area is home to wounded owls, hawks and many other species of birds.

Add several miles of nature trails and the sanctuary is a respite for travelers and locals alike looking for tranquility in a booming retail zone.

But as the years have passed and the pace of development quickened, the walls have closed in steadily on the facility known locally as Birdsacre.

Stanley Richmond, who has managed the sanctuary for 25 years, said there is little anyone can do but wait and see what change will bring.

“We could go out and be very adversarial [with developers], but we’re not going to enter that kind of situation,” Richmond said. “We kind of hope if we are good neighbors, they will work with us.”

Don Knowles, chairman of Birdsacre’s board of trustees, also recognized the importance of change, adding “if it hadn’t been for development in Ellsworth, this place might not exist.”

Development itself is not the issue, said Richmond, the longtime sanctuary proprietor whose father Chandler Richmond started the facility in the 1950s.

The issue is communication.

“We are right in the middle of a prime area for development,” he said. “We’re not against having things come in, we just have to wonder how it will affect us.”

Yet, so far, no new developers have opened lines of communication, according to Joyce Johnston, vice president of Birdsacre’s board of trustees.

“They are getting as near as they can, aren’t they,” Johnston said of developers. “They have to do something about mitigation; further development is destroying the wetland.”

The facility sits smack in the middle of a commercial zone, not exactly the ideal spot for a wildlife refuge.

Assistant City Planner Lori Roberts said that particular zone requires developers to provide only a small buffer between the sanctuary’s acreage, but developers are certainly welcome to offer more.

“It’s hard to predict what kind of relationship a developer will have with neighbors,” she said. “They will need to adhere to provisions within the zoning ordinance but nothing above and beyond that.”

Developers are required to provide abutting neighbors with notice, but City Manager Stephen Gunty said the city does not always take the initiative in facilitating that process.

So until developers step forward, Birdsacre can do little but wait and see, Richmond said.

“With anything, there is a period of adjustment for everybody, we just hope the businesses will look kindly toward us,” he said.

The Birdsacre sanctuary has cared for injured birds and offered visitors scenic wildlife and educational programs free of charge for many years. The facility started with 40 acres owned by Cornelia Stanwood, a local ornithologist, and has grown to about 200 acres.

But for a small sign out front, many travelers on Route 3 might drive by without noticing.

“I think it’s a very nice peaceful place and I think the city takes it for granted,” Johnston said. “They don’t realize what they have there. A lot of local people don’t even know it exists.”

In time, the board of trustees hopes that any new developers who come in might be inclined to extend a hand to a facility that relies primarily on volunteers and benefactors.

“Of course we’d love it if they all turn into donors,” Richmond said. “It’s not like we have any rich uncles out there.”