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Merrymeeting Bay Intertidal Plant Walk
Choice View Farm, DresdenThursday, August 29, 2024: 4:00 - 6:00 pm
Friends of Merrymeeting Bay (FOMB) is pleased to host ecologist Andy Cutko, Director of Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, who will lead an evening mud plant walk at 4:00 pm on August 29 over the intertidal mud of Choice View Farm in Dresden. Merrymeeting Bay is internationally recognized for its unique tidal freshwater ecosystem and is home to a dozen rare mud plants. Choice View Farm is a hotspot for some of these.
Many rare plants have evolved to cope with the unique characteristics of Merrymeeting Bay--such as freshwater with recurring periods of slight salinity; daily tidal ebb and flow; dry conditions alternating with frequent flooding; warm, shallow water in summer followed by freezing in winter, etc. Other environmental conditions that affect the growth of certain plants include depth of water, shade, type of bottom, and competition from larger plants. The delicate balance between all of these factors can easily be changed or destroyed by development, dredging, filling, and pollution.
Spongy-leaved Arrowhead The rare plants of Merrymeeting Bay and the lower Kennebec River include: stiff arrowhead (Sagittaria rigida); Long's bittercress(Caradamme longii); estuary monkey-flower (Mimulus ringens var. colpophilus); Parker's pipewort (Eriocaulon parkeri); estuary beggar-ticks (Bidens eatonii and Bidens hyperborea) - also called Eaton's bur-marigold and estuary bur-marigold; and Eastern Lilaeopsis (Lilaeopsischinensis). Some of these are considered globally rare.
Andy Cutko has directed the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands since 2019. Prior to that he served as Science Director for the Nature Conservancy’s Maine Chapter and for 21 years before that, Cutko was an ecologist in the Maine Department of Conservation’s Natural Areas Program. Choice View Farm, one of only two places along a state road where a good view of Merrymeeting Bay can be had, was protected by FOMB from a five house subdivision in 2001 and turned over to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IF&W).
Participants should wear rubber boots and be cognizant of ticks. The walk will occur rain or shine. For directions and to pre-register, please contact Ed Friedman at 666-3372.
The FOMB Summer Outside! Series is the warm weather counterpart to FOMB’s popular Winter Speaker Series. Events are usually free and are open to the public. Pre-registration is required. FOMB’s next and last summer outing for this season will be a Maine Search & Rescue Dogs-K9 Demo on September 10 in Bowdoinham from 4:00-6:00 pm. Pre-register with Ed Friedman at 666-3372.
The full Summer Outside! Series is on the web at: www.friendsofmerrymeetingbay.org FOMB’s 28th annual Winter Speaker Series begins the 2nd Wednesday of October and is held monthly through May.
For more information about FOMB’s programs call Ed Friedman at 666-3372.
Sarah Stapler