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On April 2 members of the monitoring team (from left) Bill Peak, Steve Perrin, Pat Flagg and Charlie Grosjean

prepare to make their first survey voyage in FTB’s new boat, a 10-foot, 125-pound dinghy. Photo by Sheila Karlson

Friends of Taunton Bay

Newsletter No. 23 Keeping an eye on the bay Spring 2002

Watching Over and Under the BayBy Steve Perrin

We never saw it coming. The eelgrass bedsthat were so thick in the 70s, sparse in the 80s, andwere slowly coming back throughout the 90s to fouloars and propellers in 2000—went back to Go in asingle year, 2001. What happened?

The truth is, we don’t know. But we’d like tofind out. Perhaps mussel beds died, depleting oxygen,leading to the dieback. Perhaps blades of eelgrasswere coated with algae that stole vital sunlight

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Perhaps algae bloomed in the water column, shadingthe plants or dying off, decaying, consuming the bay’soxygen.

We know that 2001 was the driest year sinceMaine precipitation records have been kept. TheDepartment of Marine Resources (DMR) laboratoryin Lamoine shared 15 years of precipitation data(see page 10) with FTB showing an average of some 50inches a year, gradually declining in recent years, withan abrupt drop to 21 inches in 2001. Executiveboard member Linda Penkalski’s rain datashows much the same pattern. Perhaps the eelgrass

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Members of the monitoring team (from left) Steve Perrin,Charlie Grosgean, Pat Flagg, Shep Erhart, Bill Peake and Sue

Grosjean inspect the new equipment. Photo by Sheila Karlson

decline is a result of the bay’s becoming more like theopen ocean than an estuary. Increased salinity mayhave favored an algal bloom that affected theeelgrass. The bay was unusually cloudy last summer,indicating something was in the water column.Whether animal, vegetable, or mineral we don’tknow.

FTB’s mission is to protect the bay from allforms of degradation. Yet here is degradation takingplace as we watch. We have done a good job keepingtrack of events we can see. We know what shorebirdsare around, where horseshoe crabs breed, thateelgrass was coming back until last year. Mary LouBarker has faithfully monitored water quality aroundthe bay for over ten years.

In 2002 we are determined to keep bettertrack of events beneath the surface of Taunton Bay.In addition to our ongoing monitoring programs weare going to extend our efforts to keep track of someof the things taking place in the water column.

First off, we have joined Maine’s toxicshellfish poisoning early warning network. SarahGladu, Maine Shore Steward’s phytoplanktonmonitoring coordinator, has introduced us to theprogram, and provided the equipment (sampling net,field microscope, Secchi disk) we need to get going.Bill Peake and Steve Perrin attended a workshop to

learn the finer points of plankton sampling andidentification. They will share what they learned withmonitors-in-training.

The subjects of this effort, phytoplankton, aremicroscopic sea beings that are half plant, half animal.Like plants they use sunlight to make their own food;like animals, they can move around. The base of thefood web in marine waters, they are generallybountiful in Maine waters. A few are toxic tohumans. In unusually large numbers (blooms) theycan cause paralytic, amnesic, or diarrhetic shellfishpoisoning by concentrating in mussels and clamswhich we harvest. FTB will watch for the toxic oneswhile keeping an eye on bay plankton in general.

To learn more about what is happening in thewater column, FTB will monitor a number of factors,including dissolved oxygen, salinity, temperature, pH(acidity), and transparency at a selected site in thechannel. We now have a 10-foot dinghy for thispurpose which we will anchor in the channel at hightide once each week while taking our readings. Wehave a Global Positioning System (GPS) unit to helpus get back to the same spot each time.

In the future we expect to work with theMaine Shore Steward Program in a pilot projectaimed at identifying indicator species to help us gaugethe health of various bay ecosystems. And for thelong run, we are gathering baseline data now that willprovide essential background information forprotective actions to be taken in years ahead.

Here are your membership dues and memorialgifts at work for the protection of Taunton Bay.

Moratorium Research Gets Boostby Pat Flagg

The Maine Department of Marine Resourceshas been awarded nearly $30,000 to continue itswork on the dragging moratorium in Taunton Bay.And DMR is expecting to hear about further fundingproposals of more than $53,000.

When the state legislature approved the five-year prohibition against fishing with drags in TauntonBay, it directed DMR to recommend whether or notthe prohibition should continue after 2005 and todocument the reasons for its recommendation.

Marine Resources scientist Slade Moore saysthat while meeting the legislative mandate is a

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primary objective, there are two others: to collectdata supporting long-term management goals, and toestablish protocols for responding to closureproposals elsewhere. Moore points out that theseprotocols have statewide significance because interestin marine protected areas (MPAs) is growing amongboth the public and scientists. "But," says Moore."few field-tested assessment protocols are availableto infuse scientific rigor into the decision-makingprocess."

The need for science also impressed StevePerrin, FTB president, when he, Shep Erhart andLinda Welch met with DMR representatives at theDarling Center in Walpole in February. While politicsand public pressure played a large part in the grantingof the moratorium, Perrin says, this time a scientificapproach is called for.

I am very impressed by how much workDMR is putting into this process," Perrin said afterthe four-hour session at the DMR headquarters."Driving home afterwards, we all had a very positivesense that we aren't adversaries, but are workingtogether with the DMR."

FTB is committed to helping with theassessment study by providing data gathered in anincreased monitoring program. DMR will continuemapping the bay's seabed, a project it began lastAugust. Other projects planned for the next two yearswill focus on water quality, eelgrass distribution,intertidal and subtidal communities, horseshoe crabbreeding and movement patterns, finfish communitydescriptions, and waterbird/shorebird use of the bay.

Referring to a planned test drag, Moore says,"We also intend to conduct experiments in the bay todocument the relationships between dragging andcommunity change. This portion of the assessmentadds considerable expense and logistic complexity to

the work, but we felt it was warranted given the lackof a model that could help us accurately predict theeffects of dragging."

Many individuals and groups, some of themvolunteers, are contributing to the project on TauntonBay. Jill Fegley, on the faculty at Maine MaritimeAcademy, will donate her time to subtidal algaesurveys. Grant money will help compensate thestudents who help her. It will also fund current aerialimagery and DMR personnel costs. If an OutdoorHeritage proposal is approved, DMR will collect andanalyze benthic samples.

In funding already approved, DMR willreceive $6,513 from Maine Sea Grant, and $22,853from the Maine Coastal Zone Program for the year2002. According to Moore, this amounts to 56percent of funding needed for 2002.

Taunton Bay residents are not the only oneswho will be enjoying the bay this summer. Mooresays, "We look forward to the upcoming monthsworking in and around the bay."

And he issues an invitation. "If you see us inthe field, please don't hesitate to say hello and askhow things are progressing."

New Neighbors on the Bayby Pat Flagg

Aquaculture, almost non-existent in Maine in

the 1980s and now the second most valuable fishery(after lobsters), is establishing a strong presence onthe shore of Taunton Bay. In December the U.S.Department of Agriculture bought 25 acres inFranklin next to the University of Maine's 25-acreaquaculture research center.

The Franklin site will be home to the USDA'snational cold water aquaculture research facility. Thenewcomer will share some of the infrastructure andresources of its neighbor, the University of MaineCenter for Cooperative Aquaculture Research.

"I think we will complement each other," saysNick Brown, operations manager of the universitycenter. "The USDA will bring about 14 federalscientists here and to Orono, as well as support staff.We will share infrastructure, including our pumpingand possibly discharge lines, and our resources."

The center's resources include establishedaquaculture research facilities in finfish and shellfish

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Aquaculture is the controlled cultivation ofaquatic plants and animals during all or part oftheir life cycle for either commercial purposesor enhancement of wild stocks

at Orono and the Darling Center in Walpole.Unlike the aquaculture operation conducted

at the Franklin site when it was first built in the late1980s, the current operation will not raise fish in pensin the bay. The fish-farming operation now is land-based, rearing live feed and raising fish all the waythrough to harvest on land. Proximity to the sea isnecessary, however, as salt water is brought in foruse in the large tanks in which the ground fish, codand halibut, are being raised. The water is filtered andtreated before being returned to the bay.

While small aquaculture operations in Maineraise scallops, mussels and oysters, and even seavegetables, the mainstay of the industry has beenAtlantic salmon. A major goal at the research centerin Franklin is to broaden the scope of the industry bypromoting diversity. In looking at new species,another goal is to attract new businesses to share intesting aquaculture ideas. Together, the universityand business partners will work toward improvingtechnology in such areas as re-circulation systems,demonstrating the feasibility in general of land-basedaquaculture, and increasing energy efficiency in theprocess of chilling and pumping water. (One suchbusiness partner is currently engaged in a halibutproject and may eventually build its own factory.)

Not only does a potential new businessmaking use of the Franklin center have access to

staff, infrastructure and research, Brown points out,it by-passes the permitting process, saving itselfconsiderable time and energy.

The University of Maine purchased theFranklin site in October of 1999 and began operationsin the summer of 2000. Brown, responsible for theday-to-day operation of the center, began hisemployment there in May of last year, overseeingsystems design and maintenance, rearing andmaintaining health of the brood stock and live feed,and searching for industry partners.

Brown, a native of England, earned master ofscience and doctorate degrees in aquaculture at theUniversity of Stirling in Glasgow, Scotland. He hasfarmed trout and turbot in the Irish Sea, managed ahalibut hatchery in Nova Scotia for four years andworked five years for Marine Harvest in Scotland.

With Brown at the research center are SteveEddy, who has a background in commercialaquaculture, and Bill O'Coin, systems manager, whoworked for the previous owner. About to be hired inMarch were another temporary and full-timeemployee.

It is probably safe to assume that the federalaquaculture research presence on the bay will addstature to the state's efforts, although with theexception of the catfish industry, the U.S. is not oneof the larger aquaculture producers. The industry inthis country is small, but growing. National policy,according to the USDA website, encourages thisgrowth for the dual purpose of reducing the U.S.trade deficit and for replenishing depleted wild fishstocks. The U.S goal is to seek ways to lowerproduction costs, and to improve marketing as wellas existing and new products.

But competing with other countries, thewebsite notes, is an uphill battle, as some of themhave made aquaculture a national priority, heavilysubsidizing their industries and passing environmentaland food safety laws far less vigorous than thiscountry's.

Some FTB members were treated to a tour of

Manager Nick Brown is about to check halibut in a 12-ft.diameter Fiberglas tank, one of 18 in the center's greenhouse.In the background, biologist Steve Eddy inspects a summerflounder tank inwhich water is kept between 6 and 10 degreescentigrade. Photo by Sheila Karlson

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the university research facility in the fall. This summereveryone will have the chance to learn more about thecenter when Nick Brown will explain the aquacultureresearch and development program at our Julymeeting.

Observations Around the Bay

eLast October 8 Sheila Karlson made thefollowing note at her Franklin home: "Just saw 30Snow Geese flying in a V over Taunton Bay in thedirect sun against a black cloud. What a sight! It isthe first time I have seen Snow Geese here."

eSteve Perrin spent Thanksgiving Day onBurying Island with his son, Ken, and was delightedon the row to and from the island to see crystal clearwater in wonderful contrast to the murky water hehad been seeing all summer.

eMary Lou Barker and many others haveremarked on the lack of ice in Taunton Bay this year.The bay never froze over completely and in fact thecoves, which usually get socked in, remained open allwinter. Ice occasionally glazed the rocks but neverreally took hold

eMary Lou spotted seals lying on the rocksbetween Dwelley Point and Hatch Point in earlyMarch.

eIn late winter Sheila made anotherobservation about birds: the number visiting thefeeders in her yard seemed to have decreased thisyear. Mary Lou Barker also noted a decrease atfeeders at her Sullivan home "I didn't see any finchesall winter long," she said. And Hal Church, across the

bay in Hancock, agreed, and in fact thought thenumber of birds at his feeders has been diminishingfor the last several years.

eDeborah de Moulpied has been noticingchanges in Taunton River which she sees from herHancock home. Large eel grass beds disappeared lastsummer and by late summer had been replaced by amussel bed which began as a 10-ft. by 100-ft. bed andgrew to a large bed of about 700 ft. She also notes ashift in sand and mud disposition in the river. The oldschooner in the mud near the Hancock cemetery, forinstance, has risen noticeably. Deb suggests that withconstruction of the new bridge, currents havechanged, increasing erosion along the banks of theriver.

Creatures Around the Bay:

It’s a Bird. It’s a Bat. It’s a...by Mary Lou Barker

One mild winter evening a few years ago, myhusband Alex turned on the floodlight and saw whathe took to be a small red squirrel raiding the hangingfeeder. The platform feeder is fair game for thesquirrels, but we try to keep this one, which issuspended 20 feet off the ground, strictly for thebirds. Not for the first time, Alex ran outside emittingthreatening noises. But instead of the usual comicalscramble and leap to the nearby spruce, this squirrelquietly dropped, spread its legs, and floated like atiny, square frisbee to the spruce's lower limbs. AndAlex knew he had spotted his first northern flyingsquirrel.

Since then, we have often flipped on the lightto find the flying squirrel munching away on theplatform feeder (never again the hanging one.) Withhis big prosimian eye gleaming in the light, he looksfor all the world like the Missing Link between rodentand primate. He is always welcome.

Glaucomys sabrinus is fairly commonthroughout its range in the far northern andmountainous states and Canada, but its nocturnalhabit means people seldom see it. In theAppalachians, where it overlaps with the southernflying squirrel, it is considered endangered, butis doing well in Maine. It is slightly smaller than thered squirrel, with dense, very soft brown fur (whitebelow) and loose folds of skin under each leg that actas parachutes as it glides from tree to tree.

Rocks break through the thin glaze of ice. Photo by Sheila Karlson

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Tagged horseshoe crab. Note the small light colored tagon the right hand side of the crab. Photo by Sue Schaller

Though it obviously enjoys sunflower seeds,particularly in late winter, the flying squirrel's diet isslightly different from the red squirrel in that itconsumes more fungus and lichen, along with nutsand seeds. Sources were contradictory as to howmuch winter storage it does. It does not hibernate,but like so many of our mammals will go intotemporary torpor on the coldest days.

The northern flying squirrel mates in latewinter and usually only has one litter a year, with twoto five young. It nests in hollow trees, favoring oldwoodpecker nests, and will make temporary sheltersof old birds' nests. I haven't tried it, but all my sourcessuggested tapping on hollow trees with woodpeckerholes to try to bring out an angry flying squirrel. Oryou could shine a light on your bird feeder at nightfrom time to time, and maybe you'll get lucky.

Horseshoe Crab Study Continuesby Pat Flagg

Even as we are about to embark on anotherhorseshoe crab survey, we have received a finalreport on last summer's survey on Taunton Bay andeight other locations around the state.

According to Sue Schaller who wrote thereport for the Maine Department of MarineResources, the survey provided some surprisesconcerning the time of peak activity in horseshoe crabspawning. There were delays of several days in peakactivity around the full and new moons. Based on this

and other information, Schaller has set dates for thisyear's project from the end of May to mid-June.

Schaller reports that, "At the Shipyard Pointtagging study, it initially appeared that lunar phasewas the key to predicting peak horseshoe crabspawning activity. As data collection progressed, itappeared that maximum tide height was the key topredicting peak activity. As additional days of dataaccumulated, it became apparent that peak activitycould not be predicted from what we already know."

In Taunton Bay, the number of crabs was alsoa surprise. Based on surveys conducted the yearbefore, Schaller estimated that 500 tags would besufficient to tag all the crabs encountered. Thatnumber of tags was used within the first week,necessitating a rush order for additional tags. Totalhorseshoe crab visits to Shipyard Point in TauntonBay were 2,451, a much higher figure than expected.

The few thousand crabs in Taunton Bayreflect a relatively sparse population compared to thehundreds of thousands in Massachusetts and furthersouth. Schaller says that the lower populationdensities in Maine offer research opportunities thatwould require much larger levels of staffing andfunding elsewhere. The local project fielded threestaff members and more than 70 volunteers.

Depletion of horseshoe crabs in the mid-Atlantic states has raised concerns that reproductiverates of migratory shorebirds may have beenaffected. These birds feed on the eggs during spring

Flying squirrel in mid-flight Photographer unknown

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Stan Skutek will conduct our annualshore bird survey once a week from the first ofAugust through the middle of September.

Stan says that the multiple observationsgive much more meaningful data than a single-day bird count.

Members are invited to join Stan onSaturday, August 24. Reminder cards will besent out closer to the time.

migration. Increased harvest regulation in thesestates has increased the pressure in more northernstates, including Maine.

The specific knowledge researchers hope togain in these surveys includes: determination of thenumber and location of spawning sites; howenvironmental factors (water temperature, salinityand dissolved oxygen) affecting spawning; trackingthe number of crabs returning to a spawning site (bytagging).

Schaller is asking residents or visitors toTaunton Bay to report any tagged crabs they find.She asks that anyone finding either a shell or liveanimal with a narrow orange band attached call herat (207) 929-5490 or email her atHorseshoeCrabs@AOL.com. She wants to knowwhere and when the animal was found, whether itwas dead or alive or just a shell, and the condition ofthe shell.

Schaller is also asking for volunteers to helpwith horseshoe crab surveys at Shipyard Point fromMay 26 to June 15 for about two hours a daystarting an hour before the high tide. Anyoneinterested should contact her at the above number oremail address.

December Bird Countby Stan Skutek

The Friends of Taunton Bay annual winterbird count, held Saturday, December 15, 2001, wasa quiet day and other than a belted kingfisher nounusual species were noted. The weather was seasonable withtemperatures in the low 30s, overcast sky, and lightto strong winds, depending on where surveys wererecorded.

Four individuals took part in the count whichwas conducted at backyard feeders and in fieldlocations at Settlers Landing (including part ofwestern shoreline of Taunton Bay), West Franklin,Karlson’s Point, Burying Island, Butler Point, EgyptBay, and Falls Point.

Observers spent a total of 13.5 hourscounting birds during the survey. There were 23species observed. Total number of birds observed

was 881. There were five observers in five parties.

Species observed (numbers in parentheses)

Bald eagle (6 adult) Barred owl (2)Northern raven (1) American crow (18)Red-breasted nuthatch (6) White-breasted nuthatch (1)Brown creeper (1) Black-capped chickadee (33)American goldfinch (7) Mourning dove (5)Blue jay (13) Hairy woodpecker (2)Downy woodpecker (1) European starling (5)Belted kingfisher (1) Canada goose (150)American black duck (301) Bufflehead (200)Common goldeneye (35) Red-breasted merganser (4)Red-necked grebe (2) Common loon (2)Herring gulls (82)

Although we had five fewer observers thanlast year (Dec. 16, 2000), we saw about the samenumber of species (25 last year) and the number ofbirds recorded was not too different (986).

Herring gull in flight Photo by Sheila Karlson

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Taunton Bay Bird Surveys - March 2002by Linda Welch

On March 14 Slade Moore from the Maine Department of Marine Resources and Linda Welch, FTB,conducted a bird survey of Tauton Bay. Observations were taken from 10 locations along the shore of the bay.

We recorded where we observed birds throughout the bay and will tryto correlate feeding locations with information gathered by DMRabout the floor of the bay.

The majority of birds observed were Common goldeneye andBufflehead, but several other species of waterfowl were alsoobserved. Slade repeated the survey about two weeks later andobserved significantly more birds than we recorded earlier in themonth. The recent increase in birds may be the result of birds“staging” in the area before they continue their migration northwardto their breeding grounds.

Thank you to all the property owners who allowed us to access the shore from their property.

Species 1st Survey (3/14) 2nd Survey (3/29) Total

Common loon 0 4 4

Canada goose 0 70 70

Black duck 226 146 372

Mallard 4 0 4

Common goldeneye 245 819 1064

Bufflehead 117 524 641

Red-breasted merganser 14 50 64

Bald eagle 2 1 3

President’s Commentary:Aquaculture and Habitat Restoration

by Steve Perrin

A source is where something comes from; aresource is where something comes from again andagain. The idea behind every natural resource is theassumption of ongoing sustainability. It is there today;it will be there tomorrow. Or so we hope.

In practice, natural resources depend on howmuch they are replenished, how much they are drawndown. In drought years, wells can run dry even if wetake no more water than usual. If we up ourconsumption, they run dry even faster. If we

counter the dwindling supply by installing a largerpump, we convert our resource to a source, then to amemory. Pollution complicates the resource picture.The well may contain plenty of water, but thatbountiful supply may be polluted and unfit to drink. Ifwe cart away the sand-and-gravel aquifer—the habitatour well depends on—little precipitation flows into thewell in the first place.

It is never good policy to take naturalresources for granted. Or to claim they run on naturalcycles of dearth and plenty. Harvesters and usersaffect the health of every so-called natural resource.

Common merganser Photo by Steve Perrin

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Think of the Gulf of Maine as a large well ofmarine protein called fish. In the 15–1600s, no onecould imagine that well running out. In the 1900s welooked on as it dwindled even as we stepped-up andimproved our efforts to take more and more.

In the early 2000s the main issue is not how wemanage the Gulf of Maine as a source of fish, but howwe manage ourselves in relation to maintaining thatsource as a resource for future generations. Up tillnow, we have worked on increasing today’s catchwithout worrying too much about tomorrow. Once atraditional fishery is built up, we expect it to go onforever. What my father and grandfather did is goodenough for me. Except it isn’t because times havechanged. And it is we, who are so good at what wedo, who have changed them.

If the well runs dry, we buy water fromsomewhere else and truck it in. So we in Maine eatfish from Iceland, South America, and the PacificNorthwest. Then it hits us, if the water is still therewithout fish, we can farm fish in pens immersed in thewater, importing the idea of aquaculture fromNorway, Scotland, and neighboring Canada. And ifocean pen monoculture has problems with currentscarrying diseases to our fish, we can always grow fishin clean tanks on the shore, bypassing the gulfaltogether.

A great deal of money and effort is being putinto aquaculture these days. Which may hold oneanswer to depleted gulf fisheries. A parallel approachwould be to rebuild the gulf itself by restoring themarine and estuarine habitats that support every stageof fish life. And by controlling further pollution of gulfwaters.

Taunton Bay, northern reach of Frenchman

Bay, is an arm of the Gulf of Maine. By convention, itis divided among the three towns of Hancock,Franklin, and Sullivan. That is an artificial subdivisionby land dwellers that fragments the bay’s unity as anintegral part of the gulf ecosystem. Perhaps some daywe will view our local waters as part of the largermarine flow, and our activities in this watershed asbearing on the health of the gulf and its marine species.

We welcome the University of Maine’s Centerfor Cooperative Aquaculture Research to these shores.Growing deep sea halibut in tanks is an ambitious goalrequiring management controls verging on a high art.We also welcome the U.S. Department ofAgriculture’s Research Service in Franklin which willsupport cold water aquaculture. Our region isbecoming a major player in local and national effortsto maintain the flow of protein from gulf waters.

Research facilities cannot do our job for us, orsubstitute for making every effort to restore the Gulfof Maine as a sustainable habitat for marine fish andfisheries. Protecting Taunton Bay from degradationextends to the gulf with which our bay shares its waterand marine life.

We must develop a better understanding ofwhat is happening beneath the surface, which is whywe are directing additional monitoring efforts tophytoplankton and the water column. Too, we must

Egypt Bay Photo by Sheila Karlson

Carrying Place Photo by Sheila Karlson

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understand the role our bay plays as a stage in thewater cycle, that is, where water falling from the skymeets the land (watershed) on its way to the gulf. Andmost important, we must find ways to gauge the healthof our bay in relation to the recovering health of thegulf. How do we define estuary health in meaningfulterms, and what species can we use to measure thecurrent state of the bay’s health?

Whether what we do is enough to affect theoverall health of the gulf depends on how many othersaround the rim are doing the same. Aquaculture andmarine habitat restoration are two aspects of thateffort. Together we can help the gulf recover from adwindling source to a long-term resource for future

generations.

Taunton Bay Precipitation 1944 - 2001(Data - 1944 to 1986 Acadia National Park - 1987 to 2001 Department of Marine Resources)

Last year’s drought is very obvious from the graph below.

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The FTB executive committee thanks those who

remembered their loved ones with a gift to Friends of

Taunton Bay. At its last meeting the board decided to

devote these memorial funds to buy the boat which we are

using in our extended monitoring program.

Summer Meetings

Tuesday, July 16, 7:30 pmat Sumner High School

Aquaculture Research on Taunton BayNick Brown, Manager of Operations at the University ofMaine Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research, will givea talk illustrated with slides about the center’s research anddevelopment program..

Tuesday, August 20, 7:30 pmat Franklin Community Center

Keeping Watch Over and Under the Bay Steve Perrin, president of Friends of TauntonBay, with MaryLou Barker, vice president, and members of the monitoringteams will explain the expanded monitoring program.

Co-editors Pat Flagg and Sheila Karlson - Layout by Sheila Karlson

Friends of Taunton Bay Executive Committee President . . . . . . . Steve Perrin

Vice President . . . . . . . Mary Lou BarkerTreasurer . . . . . . . Joyce ChaploweSecretary . . . . . . . Pat Flagg

Membership . . . . . . . Sheila Karlson Publications . . . . . . . Pat Flagg & Sheila Karlson

Member at Large . . . . . . . Charlie HodgsonMember at Large . . . . . . . Linda Penkalski

Member at Large. . . . . . . . Shep Erhart Member at Large. . . . . . . . Linda Welch

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Contact FTB at 207-288-8240 or email at earthling @acadia.netVisit our web site - http://www.acadia.net/tauntonbay

Non Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDPermit No. 410Ellsworth, ME

One sign of the early spring this year was the American robin that showed up by Taunton Bay in March. Photo by Sheila Karlson

Friends of Taunton Bay Newsletter120 West Franklin Rd, Franklin, ME 04634

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