The Forecaster: Yarmouth trust hits funding goal for Royal River shoreline purchase

By Jocelyn Van Saun

YARMOUTH — Last year was big for the Royal River Conservation Trust.

Highlights included a 50-acre acquisition at Runaround Pond in Durham, a 427-acre easement on Waterhouse Farm in New Gloucester, and a 70-acre addition of non-contiguous land with 2 miles of shoreline at Intervale Preserve in New Gloucester.

View the rest at http://www.theforecaster.net/yarmouth-trust-hits-funding-goal-for-royal-river-shoreline-purchase/

We did it! Riverfront Woods Campaign

We are indebted to more than 100 families, business, foundations, and other funders that donated and helped us reach our $200,000 campaign goal.  Thank you!  The Town of Yarmouth took ownership of the parcel on July 15, 2019.

Together we helped save one of Yarmouth’s last remaining pieces of unfragmented habitat and shoreline along the Royal River: In Yarmouth the Royal River’s undeveloped shoreline and habitat is rapidly disappearing as our community grows. The Royal River’s shoreline from East Elm street upriver to North Yarmouth still remains mostly undeveloped and naturally supports beavers, otters, deer, and a variety of bird species and distinct flora. This environment creates a surprisingly remote experience for paddling in the summer and skating, snowshoeing and skiing in the winter.  

Our generation conserved the remaining land: The Royal River Conservation Trust and the Town of Yarmouth worked in close partnership to raise the necessary funds to purchase 24 acres of riverfront land that is owned by Steve and Greg Dugas, Yarmouth residents. The Dugas riverfront property abuts the 22 acre Town-owned Hilda Barker Preserve and the 35 acre Town-owned Sligo Road Preserve directly across the Royal River. The connection of these preserves as a new combined Riverfront Woods Preserve creates a corridor for trails and protects one half mile of shoreline. This new Riverfront Woods Preserve creates a lush sanctuary that is also accessible from growing neighborhoods. These lands are part of a nearly 1,000 acre multi-town unfragmented habitat.

More information online: 

Riverfront Woods Preserve trails and public website

Recent press articles on the campaign

Click here: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), and campaign fine print.

For questions or information, please contact:

Alan Stearns, Executive Director, RRCT:  Alan@RRCT.org cell (207) 215-8315

For questions or information on the Town’s role, planned trails, and emerging new rules, please contact: Karyn MacNeill, Director of Community Services, Town of Yarmouth, KMacNeill@yarmouth.me.us  (207) 846-2406

CAMPAIGN BUDGET INFORMATION: 

Steve and Greg Dugas generously agreed to sell this riverfront land for below the appraised value. The Town Council committed $110,000 in available land acquisition reserve funds. The Land for Maine’s Future program awarded $110,000 and the Casco Bay Estuary Partnership contributed $8,000. The remainder – including transactional costs, property management costs, and conservation easement stewardship — was met by donations from more than 100 families, businesses, and foundations through the Royal River Conservation Trust.

Thank you Riverfront Woods Donors:

Pamela B. AdamsCharles and Laurie Ammann

AVANGRID Foundation

Bafflin Foundation

Dan and Julia Bailin

Anne Ball and Dennis Welsh

Kyo Bannai and Craig Schneider

Dave and Cynthia Barnard

Sam Barouch

Laurie Bean

Jeremy Bell and Elizabeth Pratt

Julie Benavides

Bob and Judith Bishop

Donald and Tracy Booth

Nan Butterfield

Doug and Linda Cardente

Marcie and Corvis Catsouphes

David Chalmers

Erin Cinelli and Ben Slayton

Clayton’s Cafe

Kerry and MaryEllen Connell

cowles studio| landscape architecture

Laurel Cox and Adam Sharp

David Craig

James Crofts

Darcy Cunningham

David Kitchen

Deb and Garreth Debiegun

Anthony Debruyn

Peter Dickson

Mary Dowd

Margaret and Tom Downing

Bruce Drouin and Janet Hansen and Family

John Duffy

William Dunn

Eric Elwin and Susan Murr

Estabrook’s

Mark and Pattie Fasold

Irving and Donna Felker

Mr. & Mrs. David Field

Gro Flatebo and Kent Wommack

Richard Flewelling

Ted Foden

Deborah and Crombie Garrett

Ed and Celena Gervais

John Given

Lisa Gorman

Linda and Schuyler Grant

Maura Halkiotis and Tom Renehan

Gardiner Hall

Frank and Constance Harrison

Kathy and Paul Hassett

May Hiebert

Vivian Horoshak and Robert Hawkins

Richard Hubbell

Christopher and Anne Jacobs

Karyn MacNeill

Kennebec Savings BankJudy Knaub

Robert and Caroline Knott

Erik and Catherine Knudsen

Michael and Carolyn Lane

The Laputz Family

Peter Lawlor

Alex Lawrence

Jean and DIck Leslie

Douglass and Rosemarie Lloyd

Christine Manderson and Brian Peters

Margaret E. Burnham Charitable Trust

Karen Massey and Jeff Thaler

Chris and Steve McDuffie

Sharon McHold and Tom Settlemire

Hillary M. McKinnon

Tred and Lizzie McIntire

Kathy Mills

David and Ruth Morine

Morton-kelly Charitable Trust

Chistiane Northrup

Ann Nye

Hannah and Dan Ostrye

Isabella Pardales

Stacey Pardales

David Pearl

Christine Phelps

Hillary and William Pidden

Christopher and Nancy Pierce

Virginia Remeika

Lisa Fideout and Michael Foley

Robert and Betsy Robson

Josh Royte and Leigh Baker

Karen and John Saucier

Curt and Nina Scribner

Lynne Seeley and Peter Lee

Megan Sevitelli and Michael Dedekian

The Kew/Sharpless Family

The Shurman Family

Elizabeth Small

Bertran Smith and Mary Webber

James Stevens

Jaime and Colles Stowell

Paul and Mary Stuart

Tania Jo and Beth Sturtevant

James and Elizabeth Taylor

Jim Glenn Thatcher

Ann Thayer

The Babbling Brook Fund

Carl Troy

David Truesdell

Tux Turkel and Amy Sinclair

Sarah and Jim Van Fleet

Village Improvement Society

The Waeldner Family

William Ruth and Phyllidia Ku-Ruth

Mary Williamson

Robert Smith and Margaret Creighton

The Town of Yarmouth

Portland Press Herald: Sediment Behind Bridge Street Dam Found to be Fairly Clean

By Kevin Miller

An environmental analysis of sediments behind Yarmouth’s Bridge Street Dam found a few spots of lower-level contamination but largely gave the stretch of Royal River a clean bill of health despite its industrial past.

The Nature Conservancy hired a firm several years ago to test samples on the Royal River at a time when town residents and organizations were debating whether to remove or bypass the lower dam. While Yarmouth officials have since shelved those discussions – at least at the town level – The Nature Conservancy went forward with the testing.

View the rest at http://www.pressherald.com/2017/11/24/sediment-behind-royal-river-dam-found-fairly-clean/