Two Entire Islands Preserved in Blue Hill Bay
Donated Easements Preserve Two Entire Islands
Through the efforts of a long-time supporter of island preservation and the cooperation of another landowner, Maine Coast Heritage Trust will hold permanent conservation easements on two privately owned islands in Blue Hill Bay. The easements preserve bald eagle nesting habitat, significant seal haul outs, and the scenic integrity of an archipelago visible from Casco Passage and the Swans Island Ferry. Together, the two conserved islands have more than one mile of wild shoreline.
The easement on 18-acre Sheep Island, a picnic spot long enjoyed by area residents, prohibits all future development while allow for daytime public access. Eagle Island’s six acres is now protected with an easement that allows for a small, screened tent platform set back from the shore (note: the easement does not guarantee public access). Acadia National Park holds easements on all of neighboring Johns and Pond islands, and a small portion of Opechee Island.
Peter P. Blanchard, III, a naturalist who purchased an interest in Sheep more than two decades ago and now owns the island in entirety, says “it’s wonderful to reunite places that have been fragmented.” Sheep is mostly open, providing habitat for nesting yellow warblers and song sparrows. For Blanchard, the conservation easement offers a way to “take right steps for the long term while enjoying the pleasures of ownership and keeping the place open for others to use with respect.” Within this exceptionally beautiful archipelago, he adds, you can enjoy a pristine landscape similar to what early European settlers encountered: “it’s a very magical place.”
