Damariscotta River Association

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Home Who We Are Education Events/News History Project Volunteer Opportunities Salt Bay Farm Heritage Center RoundTopFarm Public Access Links Membership Form Support DRA with an Online Donation "Like" DRA on Facebook	You can easily navigate among Current Events, News, and Past Events using the links below – or simply enjoy the journey and scroll down to see what catches your fancy. CURRENT EVENTS / NEWS / PAST EVENTS Current Events (updated 5/6/2013) In addition to the listing below, you can view events in a calendar format here. Events, Field Trips and Lectures: Unless otherwise indicated, events take place at the DRA headquarters, the Great Salt Bay Farm Heritage Center (aka "The Farm"). Dogs are not permitted at events or on field trips, except for guide dogs which are permitted. TICK ALERT: Ticks still are out in force and may be a problem year-round. Please remember to tuck in pants, apply appropriate repellent, and above all do a nightly tick check. Please visit Maine CDC for more information and resources. Important Dates: Special Bird Series Guided Bird Walks with a Naturalist - Saturdays in May from 7:30-9:30, No fee. Call the DRA to register. Join us to witness the return of the migrants. Meet at the DRA Great Salt Bay Farm parking lot. Binoculars and field guides are available to borrow. Birding by Ear with Randy Domina - June 1st from 7-10 a.m. Fee: $5.00/person. Call DRA to register. Learn how to identify birds by their songs and call notes. Recognize the songs of the common and less common birds in our area. All levels welcome. *Check back often to see what's happening!* Additional Programs and Events: Be sure to check out our updated Education section for programs starting this spring: Midcoast Stewards, Wild Encounters (Homeschool families and groups, kids 5 and older), Frogs and Pollywogs (preschool, ages 2-5), Jr. Naturalist After-School Program (grades 1-5) Top News (Current Events / Past Events) Great Salt Bay Music Fest: Roots, Rock n’ Reggae A Booming Success: Despite blistering heat the previous day, more than 350 people turned out for Damariscotta River Association’s Great Salt Bay Music Fest: Roots, Rock n’ Reggae on Saturday, July 23. On the hill above Maine’s first marine protected area, the Great Salt Bay Farm offered the best breeze in town and plenty of shade, along with what several audience members thought to be “the best lineup of music in the festival’s six-year run.” The event ran from 11:00AM to 5:00PM and featured four acts, including Gypsy Tailwind, Bruce Hardina, The New Rangers and The Beat Horizon. Proceeds from the event will support the conservation and education work of the Damariscotta River Association. The festival is named for Maine’s first marine protected area, the Great Salt Bay, at the headwaters of the Damariscotta River, on whose shores the event will take place. The saltwater farm headquarters preserve of the DRA serves as the backdrop for the outdoor performance. Fun for All Ages at Music Fest The music was great for dancing! Gypsy Tailwind Kept Things Lively Beat Horizon Brought the Reggae Sponsors for the DRA Music Fest included Renys - A Maine Adventure, Cheney Insurance, Newcastle Square Realty, Newcastle Square Vacation Rentals, Mexicali Blues, Hannaford, Damariscotta River Grill, Acadia Trust, Damariscotta Bank & Trust, Lev Davis/RBC Wealth Management, Stonyfield Farm, Damariscotta Montessori School, Rising Tide Community Market, Seamark Silver, Stars Fine Jewelry and Gifts, The Science Source, Women of Substance, Colby & Gale and Covel & Associates, with The Coastal Journal as official print sponsor. Muscongus Bay Aquaculture donated oysters for the events and Aw Shucks’ Larry Schneider opened them with ease. Tents by Atlantic Tent Company added additional shade for concertgoers and band members alike. Top Maine Geological Survey "Geologic Site of the Month" for April Features Damariscotta River Oyster Shell Middens: Several images from DRA's collection are included in this fascinating description of the Whaleback and Glidden Middens. Read more in the article at the MGS site. Top DRA Gardening Programs Support Locally Grown Food: Not everyone has ideal conditions at their home to grow fresh food but the DRA Organic Community Garden provides the community with a venue to grow healthy, local produce. Gardeners who participate benefit from the social atmosphere of the garden as well as the sunny space and the healthy soil. Jenny Begin, long-time gardener and volunteer coordinator of the Community Garden says, “I garden in the DRA Com-munity Garden because my small in-town lot does not have enough sunlight or space to grow things like dry beans. I enjoy being in a community garden because I get a lot of ideas by talking to other gardeners.” The DRA garden is a place for the community to grow organic and healthy food. In the DRA Organic Community Garden pesticides and herbicides may not be used. The only pest controls that will be permitted must be Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Associations (MOFGA.org) approved. Additionally, the DRA supports locally grown food and community agriculture by hosting the Damariscotta Farmers’ Market, providing the Children’s Garden, as well as partnering to conserve agricultural land for active production. NORGAL Preserve Dedication, October 2010: The Damariscotta River Association last week dedicated the NORGAL Preserve in Bristol. The dedication ceremony celebrated the permanent conservation of 46 acres of land near Boyd Pond and adjacent to the Bearce-Allen Preserve and additional conserved lands. The land was placed under easement and made open to the public forever through a partnership of donors Norman and Gale Hochgraf, the Quail Run Home-owners’ Association and the DRA. Pictured above from left are Matt Filler, Karen McCubbin, Sallie Sadler, preserve donors Norman and Gale Hochgraf, Steven Hufnagel, Tony Norman, Edith Vaughan, and Bob Vaughan Norman Hochgraf recounted the history of the project at the event. “Gale and I have long felt that preservation of open space is important to humans as well as to the animals with which we share the environment,” noted Mr. Hochgraf. “When almost 46 acres came on the market next to an existing preserve, effectively doubling it, we saw an opportunity and purchased it. “We drew up a Conservation Easement with DRA as the NORGAL Preserve and donated ownership to the Quail Run Homeowners’ Association. This land is protected, with public access, in perpetuity. We have since created a second preserve running through Quail Run which will permit wildlife access through undeveloped land from the NORGAL Preserve to Boyd Pond.” DRA Executive Director Steven Hufnagel expressed his gratitude to the Hochgraf’s and his enjoyment in working with both the Hochgraf’s and the Homeowners’ Association. “From the very start it was clear to me that a deep love of the land and of wildlife motivated the Hochgraf’s in their desire to protect this property,” noted Hufnagel. “I had the good fortune to work with them both on this original conservation easement for the NORGAL Preserve and later on a second easement that joined the public preserve to Boyd Pond for wildlife. They have left to the community a legacy that is being carried forward admirably by the Quail Run Homeowners’ Association which now owns the property under our easement.” Hufnagel went on to share his thanks to the Pemaquid Watershed Association as well. “When we first conserved this property and sought the best way to access it for trails,” he recalled, “PWA kindly offered to allow us to use their Bearce-Allen Preserve trailhead and connect with their trail system, making it possible for us to both avoid a fragile wetland and make for a better visitor experience. We so greatly appreciate their partnership!” Access to the DRA NORGAL Preserve and Gale’s Trail, a loop through the upland woods, is possible through the PWA’s Bearce-Allen Preserve. In com-bination with the Bearce-Allen Preserve and the neighboring Boyd Pond conservation easement, a block of land in excess of 115 acres is now under permanent conservation. Top Riverside Park Cleanup on Earth Day 2010: During the afternoon of Earth Day, April 22, Nancy Johansson, George Betke, Matt Filler, Steven Hufnagel and Walt Johansson (L to R) completed the first of several Damariscotta River Association work parties at Riverside Park in Damariscotta. The crew picked up litter, cleaned out the planters, scraped the concrete footpath and foot rests, cut down the bamboo and replaced a rotted bench slat. On the following morning Pat Neely, Nancy and Walt finished the scraping, raked and trimmed the grass and then planted pansies. Thanks to Sarah Bailey for the photo. National Trails Day Brings out Strong Showing of Volunteers on River~Link Trail: The Damariscotta River Association held another successful National Trails Day this year! Saturday, June 6^th, twelve volunteers met at Dodge Point to help maintain the new River~Link Trail. The particular focus of this days’ work was the construction of a new bridge along the trail and the widening of the first half-mile. National Trails Day is held the first Saturday of June each year. This was one of over 1,000 events held this year, throughout the entire country. All fifty states hold National Trails Day events, which aims to encourage the public to get out and explore some of the country’s 200,000 miles of trails. It also provides an opportunity to thank the organizations and volunteers that help to create and maintain these trails. This Trails Day brought out familiar faces to the DRA as well as some new volunteers, including several enthusiastic young kids ranging from ages two to six. “Watching the young Trail Tamers at work was perhaps the most exciting aspect of the day,” enthused DRA’s director of lands and stewardship, Steven Hufnagel. “It was great to see them getting involved and they really held their own amongst the other volunteers, demonstrating their skills with loppers and hammers!” According to Hufnagel, all the volunteers worked hard from 9 until noon, making great progress on the trail and completing the bridge, an important step forward in River~Link improvements. The River~Link project is designed to provide a trail that connects the Damariscotta River with the Sheepscot River and down through Boothbay. The project is collaboration between several land trusts, towns, and state agencies. This trail will also act as a corridor to allow for wildlife to migrate along large stretches of land. More information about the River~Link Trail is available here or call us at 563-1393. DRA headquarters, the Heritage Center at Great Salt Bay Farm, is located at 110 Belvedere Road in Damariscotta. Directions are available here. Volunteers help with the construction of a new bridge on the River~Link Trail. Some of the young new volunteers lending a hand. Young Haley learns how to the use the hammer with the guidance of DRA Director of Lands and Stewardship, Steven Hufnagel. Elsie Morse helps on the finishing touches of the new bridge on the River~Link Trail on Nation Trails Day, Saturday June 6^th. Volunteers at the DRA National Trails Day Event take a break from construction on the River~Link Trail. Top Row (Left to Right): Quinn and Kristine Natale, Lyra and Katlin Puchalski, Louis Natale, Larry Janes. Bottom Row (Left to Right): Steven Hufnagel, Elsie Morse, Zaniah Puchalski, Cole Natale, Haley Puchalski and Joy Vaughan River ~ Link in the News: DRA Trail Tamers were featured in a recent article in the Portland Press Herald (5/29/09) about River ~ Link, a regional collaboration funded by the Land for Maine’s Future Program to create a trail and wildlife corridor connecting the Damariscotta and Sheepscot Rivers with each other and with other protected lands in Boothbay. Get involved with the Trail Tamers - schedule available here. North Branch Wild Shores Initiative Sees Major Step Forward: In November, 2008, DRA closed on the purchase of a forever-wild conservation easement protecting 25 acres and 2,300 feet of tidal wetland at the headlands of the North Branch of Johns Bay in South Bristol. We are thrilled to announce this success, ... read more and see photos Huston Dodge Loans Historical Skiff to DRA: Damariscotta historian Huston Dodge, 91, lent the DRA the skiff he built in 1935 for public display. The boat had been stored on the DRA Heritage Preserve Huston Landing 1740, which Mr. Dodge donated to the River Association in 2006. Huston rowed his boat to a ceremonial event at the Damariscotta Town Landing on September 25, 2008. The Lincoln County News also featured the story of Huston and his skiff in the following week's paper. We have followed this up with an interview with Huston regarding his boat - listen here to a real voice of history! Energy Audits — Partnership with Midcoast Green Collaborative: The DRA has partnered with the Midcoast Green Collaborative in supporting their work and promoting their energy audits. Our partnership brings together two very necessary elements: energy conservation and land conservation. Our farm house is slated to become a model for the many old house home owners who wish to retrofit an old house with energy conservation and alternative energy gen-eration. Check out the MGC web site for more information about their mission and about their energy audits. Top Past Events (Current Events / News) Roots + Reggae By The Bay: Great Salt Bay Music Festival 2010 reggae, rock, folk, funk and blues by the bay is bigger and better than ever ... read more Top
\| Who We Are \| Lands Protection \| Salt Bay Farm \| Tidewater Watch \| Archaeology \| Events \| River Map \|

You can easily navigate among Current Events, News, and Past Events using the links below – or simply enjoy the journey and scroll down to see what catches your fancy.

CURRENT EVENTS / NEWS / PAST EVENTS

In addition to the listing below, you can view events in a calendar format here.

Events, Field Trips and Lectures: Unless otherwise indicated, events take place at the DRA headquarters, the Great Salt Bay Farm Heritage Center (aka "The Farm"). Dogs are not permitted at events or on field trips, except for guide dogs which are permitted.

News (Current Events / Past Events)

Great Salt Bay Music Fest: Roots, Rock n’ Reggae A Booming Success: Despite blistering heat the previous day, more than 350 people turned out for Damariscotta River Association’s Great Salt Bay Music Fest: Roots, Rock n’ Reggae on Saturday, July 23. On the hill above Maine’s first marine protected area, the Great Salt Bay Farm offered the best breeze in town and plenty of shade, along with what several audience members thought to be “the best lineup of music in the festival’s six-year run.”

The event ran from 11:00AM to 5:00PM and featured four acts, including Gypsy Tailwind, Bruce Hardina, The New Rangers and The Beat Horizon. Proceeds from the event will support the conservation and education work of the Damariscotta River Association. The festival is named for Maine’s first marine protected area, the Great Salt Bay, at the headwaters of the Damariscotta River, on whose shores the event will take place. The saltwater farm headquarters preserve of the DRA serves as the backdrop for the outdoor performance.

Sponsors for the DRA Music Fest included Renys - A Maine Adventure, Cheney Insurance, Newcastle Square Realty, Newcastle Square Vacation Rentals, Mexicali Blues, Hannaford, Damariscotta River Grill, Acadia Trust, Damariscotta Bank & Trust, Lev Davis/RBC Wealth Management, Stonyfield Farm, Damariscotta Montessori School, Rising Tide Community Market, Seamark Silver, Stars Fine Jewelry and Gifts, The Science Source, Women of Substance, Colby & Gale and Covel & Associates, with The Coastal Journal as official print sponsor. Muscongus Bay Aquaculture donated oysters for the events and Aw Shucks’ Larry Schneider opened them with ease. Tents by Atlantic Tent Company added additional shade for concertgoers and band members alike.

Maine Geological Survey "Geologic Site of the Month" for April Features Damariscotta River Oyster Shell Middens: Several images from DRA's collection are included in this fascinating description of the Whaleback and Glidden Middens. Read more in the article at the MGS site.

DRA Gardening Programs Support Locally Grown Food: Not everyone has ideal conditions at their home to grow fresh food but the DRA Organic Community Garden provides the community with a venue to grow healthy, local produce. DRA Organic Community Garden is always very productive and offers a social gathering place too.

DRA Organic Community Garden is always very productive and offers a social gathering place too.

Gardeners who participate benefit from the social atmosphere of the garden as well as the sunny space and the healthy soil. Jenny Begin, long-time gardener and volunteer coordinator of the Community Garden says, “I garden in the DRA Com-munity Garden because my small in-town lot does not have enough sunlight or space to grow things like dry beans. I enjoy being in a community garden because I get a lot of ideas by talking to other gardeners.”
The DRA garden is a place for the community to grow organic and healthy food. In the DRA Organic Community Garden pesticides and herbicides may not be used. The only pest controls that will be permitted must be Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Associations (MOFGA.org) approved. Additionally, the DRA supports locally grown food and community agriculture by hosting the Damariscotta Farmers’ Market, providing the Children’s Garden, as well as partnering to conserve agricultural land for active production.

NORGAL Preserve Dedication, October 2010: The

Donors Norman and Gale Hochgraf with DRA Members and Friends

Damariscotta River Association last week dedicated the NORGAL Preserve in Bristol. The dedication ceremony celebrated the permanent conservation of 46 acres of land near Boyd Pond and adjacent to the Bearce-Allen Preserve and additional conserved lands. The land was placed under easement and made open to the public forever through a partnership of donors Norman and Gale Hochgraf, the Quail Run Home-owners’ Association and the DRA. Pictured above from left are Matt Filler, Karen McCubbin, Sallie Sadler, preserve donors Norman and Gale Hochgraf, Steven Hufnagel, Tony Norman, Edith Vaughan, and Bob Vaughan

Norman Hochgraf recounted the history of the project at the event. “Gale and I have long felt that preservation of open space is important to humans as well as to the animals with which we share the environment,” noted Mr. Hochgraf. “When almost 46 acres came on the market next to an existing preserve, effectively doubling it, we saw an opportunity and purchased it.

“We drew up a Conservation Easement with DRA as the NORGAL Preserve and donated ownership to the Quail Run Homeowners’ Association. This land is protected, with public access, in perpetuity. We have since created a second preserve running through Quail Run which will permit wildlife access through undeveloped land from the NORGAL Preserve to Boyd Pond.”

DRA Executive Director Steven Hufnagel expressed his gratitude to the Hochgraf’s and his enjoyment in working with both the Hochgraf’s and the Homeowners’ Association. “From the very start it was clear to me that a deep love of the land and of wildlife motivated the Hochgraf’s in their desire to protect this property,” noted Hufnagel. “I had the good fortune to work with them both on this original conservation easement for the NORGAL Preserve and later on a second easement that joined the public preserve to Boyd Pond for wildlife. They have left to the community a legacy that is being carried forward admirably by the Quail Run Homeowners’ Association which now owns the property under our easement.”

Hufnagel went on to share his thanks to the Pemaquid Watershed Association as well. “When we first conserved this property and sought the best way to access it for trails,” he recalled, “PWA kindly offered to allow us to use their Bearce-Allen Preserve trailhead and connect with their trail system, making it possible for us to both avoid a fragile wetland and make for a better visitor experience. We so greatly appreciate their partnership!”

Access to the DRA NORGAL Preserve and Gale’s Trail, a loop through the upland woods, is possible through the PWA’s Bearce-Allen Preserve. In com-bination with the Bearce-Allen Preserve and the neighboring Boyd Pond conservation easement, a block of land in excess of 115 acres is now under permanent conservation.

National Trails Day Brings out Strong Showing of Volunteers on River~Link Trail: The Damariscotta River Association held another successful National Trails Day this year! Saturday, June 6^th, twelve volunteers met at Dodge Point to help maintain the new River~Link Trail. The particular focus of this days’ work was the construction of a new bridge along the trail and the widening of the first half-mile.
    National Trails Day is held the first Saturday of June each year. This was one of over 1,000 events held this year, throughout the entire country. All fifty states hold National Trails Day events, which aims to encourage the public to get out and explore some of the country’s 200,000 miles of trails. It also provides an opportunity to thank the organizations and volunteers that help to create and maintain these trails.
    This Trails Day brought out familiar faces to the DRA as well as some new volunteers, including several enthusiastic young kids ranging from ages two to six.
    “Watching the young Trail Tamers at work was perhaps the most exciting aspect of the day,” enthused DRA’s director of lands and stewardship, Steven Hufnagel. “It was great to see them getting involved and they really held their own amongst the other volunteers, demonstrating their skills with loppers and hammers!”
    According to Hufnagel, all the volunteers worked hard from 9 until noon, making great progress on the trail and completing the bridge, an important step forward in River~Link improvements.
    The River~Link project is designed to provide a trail that connects the Damariscotta River with the Sheepscot River and down through Boothbay.
    The project is collaboration between several land trusts, towns, and state agencies. This trail will also act as a corridor to allow for wildlife to migrate along large stretches of land.

More information about the River~Link Trail is available here or call us at 563-1393. DRA headquarters, the Heritage Center at Great Salt Bay Farm, is located at 110 Belvedere Road in Damariscotta. Directions are available here.

Young Haley learns how to the use the hammer with the guidance of DRA Director of Lands and Stewardship, Steven Hufnagel.

Elsie Morse helps on the finishing touches of the new bridge on the River~Link Trail on Nation Trails Day, Saturday June 6^th.

Volunteers at the DRA National Trails Day Event take a break from construction on the River~Link Trail. Top Row (Left to Right): Quinn and Kristine Natale, Lyra and Katlin Puchalski, Louis Natale, Larry Janes. Bottom Row (Left to Right): Steven Hufnagel, Elsie Morse, Zaniah Puchalski, Cole Natale, Haley Puchalski and Joy Vaughan

River ~ Link in the News: DRA Trail Tamers were featured in a recent article in the Portland Press Herald (5/29/09) about River ~ Link, a regional collaboration funded by the Land for Maine’s Future Program to create a trail and wildlife corridor connecting the Damariscotta and Sheepscot Rivers with each other and with other protected lands in Boothbay. Get involved with the Trail Tamers - schedule available here.

North Branch Wild Shores Initiative Sees Major Step Forward: In November, 2008, DRA closed on the purchase of a forever-wild conservation easement protecting 25 acres and 2,300 feet of tidal wetland at the headlands of the North Branch of Johns Bay in South Bristol. We are thrilled to announce this success, ... read more and see photos

Huston Dodge Loans Historical Skiff to DRA: Damariscotta

historian Huston Dodge, 91, lent the DRA the skiff he built in 1935 for public display. The boat had been stored on the DRA Heritage Preserve Huston Landing 1740, which Mr. Dodge donated to the River Association in 2006. Huston rowed his boat to a ceremonial event at the Damariscotta Town Landing on September 25, 2008. The Lincoln County News also featured the story of Huston and his skiff in the following week's paper. We have followed this up with an interview with Huston regarding his boat - listen here to a real voice of history!

Energy Audits — Partnership with Midcoast Green Collaborative: The DRA has partnered with the Midcoast Green Collaborative in supporting their work and promoting their energy audits. Our partnership brings together two very necessary elements: energy conservation and land conservation. Our farm house is slated to become a model for the many old house home owners who wish to retrofit an old house with energy conservation and alternative energy gen-eration. Check out the MGC web site for more information about their mission and about their energy audits.

News (Current Events / Past Events)

Past Events (Current Events / News)