2nd annual State of the Medomak brings together members of the greater Waldoboro conservation community
Midcoast Conservancy’s second annual State of the Medomak was held on September 10, at The Waldo Theatre in Waldoboro. Attended by local residents, vacationers, and folks from the surrounding area and greater midcoast region, the event provided an opportunity to be informed, entertained, and connected to the conservation community.
Board Chair, Buck O’Herin welcomed attendees and shared information from the Strategic Plan and about directions of future work, which organizationally includes a planned office consolidation to the Waldoboro location that will be complete in mid-October.
Isobel Curtis, Midcoast Conservancy’s Director of Stewardship spoke about the unique topography of the service area, which lends itself to truly incredible terrestrial habitat - ridges and valleys, moraines, and the long coastline. This physical diversity leads to biological diversity that also exists at the overlap of two biomes. With only 8 major biomes in the world, Maine is at the meeting point of the Northern Boreal Biome and the Temperate Deciduous Biome which means there are many species living at the ultimate extremes of their ranges (either their northern or southern limit).
As Midcoast Conservancy’s mission is to protect and restore the vital lands and waters of midcoast Maine, Isobel’s lands presentation naturally led into Morganne Price, Midcoast Conservancy’s Medomak Regional Stewardship Manager’s presentation, focusing on the Medomak Watershed and vital aquatic resources.
This portion of the evening focused on the much-loved Medomak Watershed and not only what makes it special, but also what makes it vulnerable to change. Some of these factors include dwindling sea ice in the arctic causing shifts in jellyfish distributions, increasing development pressure reducing wildlife’s ability to move from place to place, and the best way to help these areas be more resilient to these changes is to conserve land, especially land surrounding waterways.
Morganne shared news of the exciting Herbie Hill Conservation Easement and a just-announced acquisition that will help further protect rare habitats in the Medomak Headwaters, helping the Medomak River adapt.
Morganne also noted the recently published Coastal Spruce Guide, created by Rose Gellman in partnership with others from the University of Maine, Maine Forest Service, and Acadia National Park.
Presentation slides can be viewed here.
Morganne also presented the Volunteer of the Year award to James Daiglish, in attendance with is wife, Heather. James is a longtime Medomak Valley Trail Crew member, and also helps with Ride the Rails to Hike the Trails events held with WW&F Railway in Alna.
Information tables were supported by partnering organizations which included Knox-Lincoln County Soil & Water Conservation District, Maine Natural Areas Program, Maine Shore Corps, and Voices of the Medomak.
The attendees enjoyed pizza from McGreevy's Corner Store, a Waldoboro favorite!, homemade desserts from community members, and The Waldo Theatre benefitted from the cash bar.
All attendees had an opportunity to win door prizes sponsored by Catbird Flower Farm, Fish in the Garden, Ida’s Garden Bar (at The Waldoboro Inn), The Narrows Tavern, and Perch Cafe. Thank you to these businesses for supporting our event, and to our great community for supporting our work!
