|
|
Maine Coastal Islands--Bold, Beautiful but Fragile When I gaze out from my sea kayak upon a cluster of spruce clad islands off of our rockbound coast, the sight is so beautiful that it just plain hurts. If you paddle or cruise the coast of Maine, you know what I mean.
These submerged mountains guard the coast and help create our rich marine ecosystem. Even though these islands look rocky and rugged, they are really quite fragile. The soils are thin and the number of visitors is increasing, so it's important that visitors tread lightly. Human activity has had an impact on the coastal islands for centuries. Many were cleared for their timber, farmed, or used to raise sheep.
In recent years, our islands have developed a new economic value in eco-tourism. These days, thousands of people come to Maine to paddle or cruise in private boats or on commercial schooner trips. Many of their adventures include a picnic or campout on Maine's 52 publicly accessible islands. That’s where the potential for damage lies. Trampling on fragile island vegetation or cutting trees to expand existing camping areas not only damages the ecosystem, but also degrades the island experience for the next visitors. Also, the traditional campfire poses a double threat to self-contained island ecosystems.
Forest fires on islands can be disastrous in themselves, and burning the fallen wood from island trees takes away future nutrients from the soils. Speaking of island soils, there's another somewhat delicate subject---poop. That's right, how do you deal with the treatment and handling of human waste? Sure, on a big brawny island a little buried waste from a few visitors could be assimilated, but on a popular smaller island it could be quite a problem. So what's the "right" thing to do? You guessed it--pack it out. For suggestions on how to perform this maneuver, and other "Leave No Trace" tips, check out "Fragile Islands - A Guide to Low-Impact Techniques," a document developed by the Maine island Trail Association www.mita.org a non-profit organization that promotes island stewardship.
Another publication that might be useful is Hot Showers! Maine Coast Lodging for Kayaks and Sailors by Lee Bumstead. Paddling or cruising during the day and staying the night at B&B's, inns or mainland commercial campgrounds is a truly low-impact way (especially for larger groups) to enjoy our precious island gems. So, if you're on the water, enjoy our public islands but be kind and tread softly. All the good views are from the rugged, rocky ledges anyway.
This column originally submitted to "In Our Back Yard" a weekly column of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, July 14, 2006, by David McCaskill, an Environmental Engineer with the Maine DEP's Bureau of Remediation and Waste Management.
