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21 Acre Gift Important for the Pemaquid Watershed Association

May 14, 2008 - PEMAQUID -- The Pemaquid Watershed Association recently received a gift: 21 acres of wetlands in Bristol.

For Ken Heath, a member of the Watershed Association's Land Stewardship Committee, it's an important acquisition.

"One of the principal things about this is that it's one more step toward preserving the quality of the water table," Heath said. "Bristol is a fast-growing town, and there's always the question about water quality, and how we can maintain it for future generations."

The Watershed Association is a nonprofit organization that works to conserve the natural resources of the Pemaquid peninsula.

The land was donated by Greg and Shelley Brackett, and will be known from now on as the Little Falls Brook Preserve.

"They wanted to give this property to some organization that would preserve it," said Heath.

The Bracketts first approached the land trust around a year ago, Heath said.

"It's a wonderful habitat," Heath said. "Some of it is marshland and some of it is open water, and it's surrounded by hard and softwood forest."

The preserve is also home to several types of fauna, said Heath.

"It's very rich in animal life, particularly in the summer and fall," he said. The preserve is home to coyotes and foxes. "There are deer and even moose, and it's a good bird habitat," Heath said.

There are also several beaver dams with active beavers, Heath said.

Ultimately, the preserve hopes to improve public access to the preserve by adding boardwalks and a parking area.

Even without these amenities, the preserve is still open to visitors.

"All our lands are open to the public," said Heath.

But members of the public who want to check out the new preserve should plan on getting wet.

"The water is really high right now so that access there would be difficult," Heath said. "We haven't got a sign up yet and haven't made any edge trails yet."

Nor is there any parking yet. "Access is from the road," said Heath. "That's probably not the best place."

The land trust is working to secure parking elsewhere, said Heath.

In summary, Heath said, "Yes, it's open to the public, but it's so wet right now that I think people would get really soaked."

The Little Falls Brook Reserve is located off Carl Bailey Road in Bristol. For more information on Pemaquid Watershed Association, visit www.pemaquidwatershed.org.

By ISAAC KESTENBAUM, Portland Press Herald, May 14, 2008

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