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	Lamoine Conservation Commission Minutes April 21, 2010

The meeting started at 7:08 p.m.

Commission Members Present: Bob Pulver (Chair), Fred Stocking (Secretary), Carol Korty, Amy Morley, Annie Crisafulli (alternate), and Nancy Pochan (alternate);

Others present: an audience of at least 23!

“Bluebirds in Lamoine” a presentation by John Holt

John began by recounting a conversation with his father, Sam Holt, who recounted in his later years that he had not seen a bluebird in Lamoine since he was a youth. Since 1999, John has had a nesting pairs on his property in the village center every year. John's thesis is that bluebirds are around, but need to be presented with an appropriate nest site in order to stick around. Other wise they fly through high, and we don't see them.

Bluebirds are “secondary cavity nesters,” meaning that they require a cavity for their nest, but don't make their own. In decades past, they thrived in woodpecker holes in trees at the edge of fields and in fence poles with holes. Both kinds of holes have been in decline, as wire fence predominates and dead trees at the edge of fields are now commonly cleared away.

Bluebirds are also less aggressive than starlings and English Sparrows, and will lose out on potential sites that have holes large enough for those species.

For these reasons, the key, John asserts to attracting bluebirds is to create nest boxes which are tailored to bluebirds. Such boxes must:

1. be located in an open field. Bluebirds feed by perching and swooping down to catch insects. They need large areas of low vegetation, away from woods, such as golf courses and cemeteries.
2. have nearby perches, such as low apple trees.
3. have an access hole about 1.5 inches in diameter- too small for starlings, with an inside floor of about 4” by 4”. John handed out plans for both nest boxes and feeding boxes (noting that last year bluebirds at his property and another nested in the feeding boxes).
4. put up two boxes about 30-50 feet apart, because tree swallows will compete with bluebirds for nest boxes, but no tree swallows will nest within 100 feet of another tree swallow nest, so with two, there is one left for the bluebirds.

John then handed out bluebird boxes to some of those attending who had properties near fields and no outside cats.

There was a break for refreshment and informal discussion, followed by a meeting of the Commission.

Agenda Items:

1. Review of minutes of the February Meeting was deferred until the May meeting:
2. Review of Town Meeting: There was a brief appreciation that the aquifer protection amendments had been approved.
3. Tapped: There will be two further presentations, May 16th at Reel Pizza in Bar Harbor at 1 p.m. and May 18 at the Ellsworth City Hall at 6:30. At least one LCC member should attend each showing. Food & Water Watch has agreed to help with the costs, as well as the Bar Harbor Conservation Commission and the Union River Watershed Coalition. LCC has contributed $125.00 and it is not not yet clear if more will be required. There is a color poster which will be distributed by e-mail.
4. GET WET : Bob and Carol reported that there was another successful session in Lamoine. The teachers in Lamoine were very supportive. The Ellsworth High School kids were also interested and supportive. One EHS student who had had his water tested in Lamoine as an elementary student will be written up in the Lamoine Quarterly. Bob is proposing that there be on-the-spot water testing by students at the public presentation of the data, which he and Carol agreed should be in this school year if at all possible, although there is no date as yet.
5. MDI Frenchman Bay stakeholders meeting: There was a meeting at the MDI Biolab with 40+ people in attendance. The presentation mirrored that to the LCC in January, stressing that mussel dragging, ice and eelgrass slime are the limiting factors for eelgrass in Frenchman Bay , not water quality, which is a problem in other locales. Berry Cove in Lamoine was selected as the top choice for a restoration effort, with research to be undertaken in Raccoon Cove to check the flyover data, which may be flawed. The LCC will need to take on an organizational and cheerleading role. Nancy Pochan has been talking to Jim Norris of the shellfish initiative about eelgrass issues and Carol suggested that we sponsor kayak field trips into Berry Cove to promote eelgrass restoration.
6. Shore Clean-Up : There is a proposal for a Shore Clean-up on September 18th . The focus will be on getting the seventh graders to participate. Carol suggests the LCC has a role in getting out the community generally.
7. Hancock County Groundwater Talk by Dr. Marvinnie, the state hydrologist . Carol will send Fred the PowerPoint, which he will distribute to the e-mail list.
8. MEACC regional meeting in Ellsworth : Bob and Carol attended. Carol had to work quite hard to get 15 people to attend. There were presentations on land preservation in Wells, dog feces pollution of the intertidal area and GET WET. The only concrete item to come out of the meeting was a sense from Hancock, Lamoine and Ellsworth that they need to meet quarterly and/or have joint projects. The LCC agreed to put joint projects on the May agenda.

The meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Fred Stocking Secretary, Lamoine Conservation Commission

Reviewed and Approved by the Lamoine Conservation Commission on May 12, 2010 by a vote of 5 in favor and 0 opposed.

-S-

Fred Stocking, Secretary