TOPSHAM
The Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust announced late last week it was gifted a 29- acre parcel in Topsham that includes more than 900 feet of Cathance River frontage.
Land trust officials said the group has been working for more than 10 years with many partners to conserve a recreation and conservation corridor for public use along the Cathance River, “one of our region’s hidden gems.”
The Cathance River “provides a very different riparian and recreational experience from the wide open Androscoggin River. It feels intimate and remote despite the relative proximity to busy neighborhoods and intersections, and includes everything from Class 4 rapids to gentle meanders along its 12-mile journey to Merrymeeting Bay,” the land trust said in a news release
The Flannery property, a 29-acre parcel on the western shore of the river’s tidal section, adds over 900 feet of shore frontage to the Cathance conservation corridor. The property diverse forest and is valued by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Maine Department of Inland Fisheries for providing tidal waterfowl and wading bird habitat. The property also reveals evidence of past human use, including multiple quarries and a large mining seam 25 feet deep and 200 feet long.
The Cathance River is described as a critical area to conserve — as one of six rivers flowing into Merrymeeting Bay, which, with the Lower Kennebec River, comprises the Kennebec Estuary, one of Maine’s most significant natural areas.
The Kennebec Estuary is the second largest estuary on the East Coast, containing 20 percent of Maine’s tidal marshes and providing critical habitat for a range of fish, waterfowl, and other species.
The Flannery property, surrounded by developed parcels, was a likely candidate for development, land trust officials said.
“The community is grateful to landowner Ann Flannery and Patty Olds for their generosity and vision in working with the land trust to conserve this important natural area,” the release states. “In addition, the land trust would like to thank Merrymeeting Bay Trust and the North American Wetland Conservation Act grant program for funding the acquisition of this property, as well as the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for their partnership in making this project happen.”
The Times Record Sustaining Sponsor
We believe a community must be informed to thrive. bowdoin.edu
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less