Thanks to our volunteers for a great field season!
Without the help of volunteers, be it for trail building, invasive species management, or easement monitoring, RRCT's burgeoning Stewardship Program wouldn't be nearly as successful as it has been this past fall and summer. Thank you to all of you who lent your time battling bittersweet, building foot bridges, walking easement boundaries, and meeting and greeting our landowners. If you wish to be involved in our volunteer program, be in touch! We'd love to hear from you!
Yarmouth residents lend a hand (and a tractor) building new trails and a footbridge in the woods at the Fels-Groves Farm Preserve.
FALL 2008 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT, Gro Flatebo:
In August, when Tom Armstrong handed over the reins of RRCT board president to me, I couldn't
help but marvel how the organization
has grown and developed over
the course of this decade. In 2002
we reconstituted the Friends of the
Royal River as a regional land trust
to reflect the growing interest in
protecting not just the river, but the
landscapes and natural values of its
entire watershed. Recognizing that
staff support would be essential to
accomplish what we needed to do
in this fast-growing part of the
state, we took a major step and
hired Henry Nichols full-time as
executive director. CLICK
HERE FOR MORE.
ROYAL RIVER YOUTH CONSERVATION CORPS COMPLETES ITS FIFTH SEASON
This
past summer, RRCT hired six high school and college students (crew members
Will Woodworth, Aaron Ricardi, Becca Gerber, Hannah Martin, Hannah Blatchford,
and crew leader David Miklovich) and Technical Director Blainor McGough
to tackle water quality and habitat improvement projects in the Royal
River watershed. Tempering hard work with good cheer, these young conservationists
planned and implemented projects in Auburn, Freeport, Gray, New Gloucester,
North Yarmouth, Pownal, and Yarmouth. Some projects represented a continuation
of 2007 YCC projects; some were new efforts.
RRCT wishes to recognize the towns of Yarmouth, Cumberland, Pownal, New Gloucester, and North Yarmouth for their outstanding support. Additionally, we are grateful to Casco Bay Estuary Partnership, Crystal and Sabbathday Lake Associations, Yarmouth Water District, Shawnee Peak, DeLorme, Cumberland County Soil & Water Conservation District and New England Grassroots Environmental Fund for their generous contributions. We are also indebited to Wendy Garland of Mane DEP, Bob Houston of the North Yarmouth Conservation Commission and Marcia Noyes of Yarmouth Community Services for their assistance. CLICK HERE FOR THE RRYCC 2008 REPORT.