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New Warden Ready for Alewife Run in Benton

May 06, 2009 - CHINA -- So far, the youth fishing pond is just a big sandy hole in the ground off Dirigo Road, with an ice-cold streamlet trickling along the west side.

Supporters envision a three-acre pond with a gently sloping shoreline where children under 16, their parents and people with disabilities, including disabled veterans, can enjoy catching brook trout and picnicking.

The few detractors are concerned about polluting the aquifer that underlies the sand pit, about liability issues and about policing the area if the project becomes reality.

On Friday evening, a group of mostly supporters met at the China Town Office for an update on the project. Among those present were State Senator David Trahan from Waldoboro; State Rep. H. David Cotta from China; and William Dion from Nobleboro and Mark Hoffman from Newcastle, two of the three owners of the proposed site; Robert Van-Riper, regional biologist for the state Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife; two members of the department's advisory council; and three China residents.

After an hour's discussion, most of the group drove to the proposed pond, located on the west side of Dirigo Road behind a pit being worked by Dale McKenney of Palermo. Dion and Hoffman showed them the excavated area, bounded on the west by an old railroad bed, on the north by a tree line and a trailer park and on the south by a wooded gully and an open field.

Trahan is involved with a similar project in Waldoboro -- an old quarry is now a popular youth-fishing hole, smaller but deeper than China's will be. Dion got in touch with Trahan after seeing publicity about one of Waldoboro's fishing derbies.

"We thought the pit ought to become something nice that people can enjoy, not just a dug-out hole in the ground," Dion said.

Van-Riper said his department officials endorse a project that reclaims a sand pit and provides habitat and public recreation. He has consulted with people from the state Department of Environmental Protection, he said.

The plan is for inland fisheries to manage the site under an easement from the landowners.

Management would include stocking the pond annually, with the hope that a self-sustaining trout population will develop.

Van-Riper said once the pit is dug below the water table and fills with water, it should be fit for fish habitat the next year. Adding a couple 50-pound bags of dog food or cattle feed or hay would start thebiological process, he said. Van-Riper told meeting attendees he sees no threat to groundwater and the main potential problem would be keeping adults from fishing illegally.

Michael Witte from New Harbor, the fisheries and wildlife council advisory member whose district includes Waldoboro, said wardens will be responsible for enforcing rules. Witte assured resident Charles Plumer that wardens will be supportive, and not looking to harass people If a parent without a fishing license is helping a child fish, no problem, he said; it's only if the parent, with or without a license, is actually doing the fishing that the warden will object.

Cotta thinks once area youngsters and their families begin frequenting the fishing hole, it will become self-policing.

However, Trahan said, the area will not be exclusively for locals -- it will be open to everyone, perhaps including groups on excursions.

As of Friday's meeting, there was no firm timetable for the project. As a next step, Dion and Hoffman need to sell more sand to get it out of the way.

They already moved a lot to install the septic system for the new Hannaford supermarket in South China, they said.

BY LARRY GRARD, Kennebec Journal, 5/4/09


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