MILFORD – A small group of boaters pushed off Saturday morning from a pebbly landing beside Route 2 and paddled upstream into the peaty, peaceful heart of the Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. Two canoes and a handful of kayaks made up the ragtag flotilla, which was led by Jan Beckett, board president of Friends of the Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, an all-volunteer group that supports the 11,200-acre refuge.

“If you come out here at 5 in the morning, I guarantee you’ll see a moose,” Beckett remarked from the bow seat of the aluminum canoe she shared with fellow board member Mark Drake of Orono. As she spoke, a great blue heron dropped out of an overhanging maple, its enormous wings flapping silently in the still air. Flying low to the water, the bird followed the winding course of the stream and disappeared around the next misty bend.

Since 2007, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service scaled back its budget and closed the refuge’s administrative office in Old Town, the Friends group has taken on an increasingly important role in managing, protecting and maintaining Sunkhaze.

Though it officially is administered by the staff of the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge, with headquarters in Rockport, activities such as trail maintenance, boardwalk repairs, parking area management and other labor-intensive tasks are largely handled by the Friends group.

It’s a responsibility they take seriously, Beckett said. Composed of environmentalists, sportsmen, hikers, paddlers, photographers, bird-watchers and others, the Friends are united by their commitment to protecting the refuge and the diverse plants and animals that make their homes in it.

“Once you get into it, you see it’s not just a bog or a swamp,” Beckett said. “It’s a haven for all the little creatures.”

Established in 1988 to protect the peat bog from commercial harvesting, the refuge serves as prime nesting and visiting grounds for migratory waterfowl. In addition, all of Maine’s roughly two dozen warbler species are found here. There are plenty of larger creatures, too – moose, bear, coyotes, deer, beavers, otters and game birds such as turkey and partridge are frequently spotted by human visitors. Insect life includes colorful butterflies and dragonflies.

With miles of woodsy foot-trails, a wildlife viewing platform and the sinuous, peat-tinted waterway of Sunkhaze Stream, there is plenty to attract nature lovers. Hunting and fishing are permitted in season. But, Beckett said, the primary aim of any refuge is to manage and protect the wildlife within it.

“It’s managed for wildlife first and for humans second,” she said.

Among the Friends’ concerns is recent residential development along County Road in Milford. “Their backyards back right up to the refuge,” Beckett said. “All it takes is one teenager on a four-wheeler to do a lot of damage.”

Beckett said she and others in the organization meet with area residents to educate them about Sunkhaze Meadows. “Some of them don’t realize it’s a refuge,” she said.

Saturday’s excursion, open to the public, attracted just a handful of the Friends’ roughly 175 members, including kayaker Heaven Lane of Enfield and longtime members Ron and Lee Davis of Orono in a venerable wood-and-fiberglass canoe. Paddling enthusiast Linda Pletka, who recently moved to Orono, tried out her new, lightweight “Poke Boat.”

In addition to the heron, the paddlers were treated to the sight of otters, kingfishers and an osprey. Bright cardinal flowers dotted the shores, and the leaves of the swamp maples were touched with red.

To learn more about Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, or for information about the activities of the Friends, visit www.sunkhaze.org or call Jan Beckett at 827-0227.

mhaskell@bangordailynews.net

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