A proposal for Blue Hill’s Long Island

While there are some seasonal homes on Long Island, much of the area is under a conservation easement with the National Park Service. Photo by Steele Hays.

By Larry Flood

Long Island is a large island centrally located in Blue Hill Bay. It has significant conservation potential as one of the largest unfragmented saltwater habitats along the Eastern seaboard  for endangered species habitat, with valuable scenic resources, and recreational opportunities as well..

More specifically, its size is nearly seven square miles, over 4,500 acres. Its interior is largely mixed scrub wood ideal for wildlife. It has over 100 acres of wetlands including a small open water pond. It has 13 miles of shore frontage, the bulk of which is rocky shore, but also over a mile of beaches well known to Blue Hill residents. A hill in the center of the island is 375 feet high. It has one known prehistoric site and the remains of settlements from the hundred plus residents during the 1800s.

Long in private hands, much of Long Island has been protected by an easement with the National Park System since 1995, but only passively managed. To my knowledge, the NPS has made no investment of any kind on the property. Acadia National Park has a huge and growing demand at its main park on Mount Desert Island, and the burden of long deferred maintenance leaves it in no position to invest in what to them is a peripheral property. By contrast there is the opportunity for Blue Hill Heritage Trust to do so with the thought that Long Island becomes a signature feature. To the extent that such an undertaking is beyond the resources of BHHT, it could seek the support of Maine Coast Heritage Trust and other similar organizations to assist.

What might some plans entail? My thought is to model any development on what has been done with Isle au Haut but, at least initially, on a smaller scale. I would recommend that arrangements be made with one or more operators of lobster boats based in South Blue Hill. They could be chartered to provide transportation for parties interested in exploring the island in the morning and being picked up in the afternoon. Initially such visits might occur only once a week in the summer and even less off season, but could increase in frequency as demand develops, but still be controlled and restricted.

Initially, visitors to the island would be on their own, but again, as interest develops, trails could be developed around the island, into the bog, to historic sites, or to the top of the hill. These would be supplemented over time with picnic benches, porta potties, and drinking water resources. Down the road, a camping site might be developed with lean-to shelters, fireplaces and other resources to permit registered overnight camping, again similar to Isle au Haut. Ultimately a park ranger might be stationed there throughout the summer to supervise and provide guidance for visors. The fact that Isle au Haut camp sites are reserved more than a year in advance illustrates the demand on the one hand and the ability to limit access on the other hand.

There could also be a research focus to the management of the island. Initially, this effort would be monitoring and evaluating what is already there because it is so unique. But recognizing that, due to its isolation from the mainland, there are few predators such as foxes, skunks, or rats, could facilitate the reintroduction or encouragement of endangered species. Sandpipers, terns, and plovers might be examples of birds that might benefit from less vulnerable nesting sites. These efforts would occur in places if necessary placed off bounds to visitors on the islands. Eagles and ospreys would also flourish on Long Island with a little help such as roosting poles.

Another idea would be some kind of  shell fish facility or an aquarium with a series of terraced intertidal pools along the shore. These could be expanded incrementally  over time.

The historic character of the island might warrant the reintroduction of some of the activities that occurred long ago. One idea along that line would be to create a seasonal encampment for members of the Penobscot Nation to hunt, fish and farm undisturbed on a designated area on the island. Another example is that a century ago there were reportedly as many as 6,000 sheep on the island. Would it not be great to reintroduce some sheep? Such an activity  seems to work so well in Europe, not to mention other islands off the coast of Maine.

While admittedly controversial, another idea would be to provide the opportunity for the Wabanaki’s to return to Long Island, acquire a long term lease of perhaps a few hundred acres, and establish a semi-permanent, private presence living seasonally on the island. They might conduct shell fish aquaculture operations, reestablish blueberries as well as other crops, and undertake on a contract basis improvements for visitors to the island such as trails or campsites. 

–Flood is a resident of East Blue Hill.