York Town News
Protecting the watershed: new grant will fund extended patrols to Mount Agamenticus
By Melissa Wood
YORK - Fifteen years ago, Folly Pond was considered to be a big teenage party spot.Because the area around the pond is hard to reach with narrow trails, police could do little to stop the illegal campfires and swimming, underage drinking, drugs and even assaults that took place at one of the town's sources for drinking water.
"It became a well-known area for this to take place," said Sgt. Thomas Baran of the York Police Department, but he said now "the great thing is that has just about completely stopped."
Those types of activities at Folly Pond have almost disappeared because for the past seven years that Watershed Patrol Officer Gary Stevens has patrolled the area on either a mountain bike or all-terrain vehicle, all year long, creating an enforcement presence and meeting face-to-face with all the different users of the land to encourage responsible behavior. Stevens' patrolling is part of the York Water District's watershed protection program, implemented 10 years ago.
"My main goal is to protect the water quality in and around the entire region," said Stevens, who has logged more than 12,000 patrol miles using an ATV or mountain bike. "I prefer to educate the people on the proper and acceptable use of this area and convince them to do the right thing, respect the land, respect the landowners and respect each other."
Now a grant of $9,500 will allow that type of enforcement to be increased to include the area around Mount Agamenticus, an increase of land patrolled from 5,000 acres to roughly 12,000 acres. This will include the gravel pits near Witchtrot Road, a spot that has long had problems with the high number of ATV and dirt bike users and people shooting target practice in the pits disturbing the landowners and golf course nearby.
The increased patrols will start April 1, just in time for the beginning of springtime "mud season" when some trails have to be closed to decrease erosion and protect vernal pools. The grant includes $4,000 for the purchase of new equipment, which will be spent on a new ATV for patrols.
Baran said the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife granted the group the funds over 60 other law enforcement agencies that also applied for the block grant.
"The state, in giving us the money, has recognized this is a valuable piece of property," said Baran. "It needs to be watched and cared for."
The region includes one of the largest undeveloped forests in coastal New England and provides the sole supply of drinking water for residents of York, Kittery and Eliot.
With such a large area, the enforcement is made possible by a combined effort of the York and South Berwick police departments, York and Kittery water districts and the Mount Agamenticus Conservation Program.
Mount Agamenticus Conservation Coordinator Robin Stanley said the area is a mixing zone where a southern climate meets the northern one, and contains many vernal pools - making it an excellent habitat for a diverse plants and animals, and extremely fragile.
"The combined impact of tens of thousands of people each year really takes its toll," she said.
Stanley said the conservation efforts focus on balancing the protection of water quality and wildlife habitat with what she called "sustainable recreation," when people use the land in a way that protects it so that it's worth coming back to.
"Respect the land, respect each other," she said. "We don't want people making new trails, and we don't want motorized ATVs near the pond."
The incident that first instigated the patrols happened in November of 1996 when an off-road motorist club traveled within a few feet of Folly Pond, cutting down tress where the trail was too tight to allow their 25 to 30 Jeeps to roam through the watershed. The incident was caught on video by a Kittery Water District staff member.
The event prompted the Kittery and York water districts to create a partnership to protect the area around Chase's Pond, Folly Pond, Middle Pond, Boulter Pond and Bell Marsh Reserve by first installing 13 gates and boulders to limit access. Three years later, Stevens jumped at the opportunity to become the watershed patrol officer by traversing the protected area all-year at various times. Previously, the area had only been patrolled during normal business hours.
"It really did nothing other than picking up the mess," he said.
Stevens' records of the many hours he's spent on the trails show the impact of his patrols over the last 10 years with people recognizing police can and do access areas that were once too difficult for them to reach.
"We've been squeezing things out that we don't want up there," he said.
For instance, the number of fires decreased from 11 in 2001 to none in 2006. Stevens said fires are usually caused when people create campsites and then just walk away, leaving the flames still burning, which is especially dangerous when land is dry in the summer. He said a fire in the area would be devastating to the water quality.
Stevens said those who frequent the land, including hikers, runners, bikers and ATV users, need to be aware of the sensitive environment but also remember to be friendly and respectful to each other.
"Everyone needs to make a good impression on everyone else out there," he said.
