Focus on a Preserve: North Perry Creek
Forming an arc across the western shoulder of Vinalhaven, the North Perry Creek Preserve offers its visitors a pristine snapshot of the region’s entire ecosystem. The shoreline, along a mile and a half of startling blue water, begins as the fresh waters of Perry Creek drain through wet ground at the head of the inlet. It flows east to the deep waters of Seal Cove, providing the visitor with the ability to travel from wetland to anchorage. A winter visit to the head of the inlet rewards even the minimally observant person with the knowledge that many creatures call this place home, as large and small footprints are so interconnected that it is impossible to distinguish the individual prints.
Hikers can follow the shoreline trail as it dips toward and away from the water. Birdlife abounds. With ospreys nesting along its shores, and frequented by kingfishers, heron, gulls, owls, and eagles, there is no season when it is quiet on the water.
As a preserve with many circuitous trail options, Perry Creek walkers can also explore the higher ridges away from the shore that offer views north, west, and south while traveling through a variety of terrain. The vegetative cover represents all of the larger island’s features: tidal flats, rocky intertidal zones, freshwater streams, tidal and freshwater marshes, vernal pools, and high, dry upland.
History
Early in the land trust movement, several visionary people recognized the qualities of Perry Creek and its surrounding lands, and through their tireless efforts, the North Perry Creek Preserve was formed. They understood how important it is to protect places like Perry Creek from degradation and development, and to keep them accessible to the public. Five properties taken together encompass the entire north side of Perry Creek, a total of well over 300 acres. The story is worth remembering and retelling.
In the early 1970’s, Roy Dyer, a Vinalhaven native whose family owned land at the head of the Creek, and Leverett Saltonstall, a summer resident who owned land along the north shore near the entrance to the creek, first approached Acadia National Park about holding easements on the properties. However, as the conservation movement was relatively new at the time and not enough neighbors were concerned, the proposed easements came to nothing.
By 1980, however, it was a different story. Following the death of its owner, Melinda Terry, 158 acres came on the market, and neighbors, led by summer resident Lea Iselin, became concerned that the Terry property might be sold to a private developer and closed to the public. In the summer of 1984, Lea took the lead in raising money from her summer neighbors for the purchase of the property. Twelve families pledged the $68,000 needed to purchase the property for Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT).
Concurrently, MCHT, had taken an interest in conserving the entire Perry Creek area, north and south sides of the Creek, and was talking to all the property owners.
Lea also felt that the time was right for the creation of a local land conservation organization. Her idea was that the funds to purchase the property would be donated to MCHT, but with the understanding that MCHT would give the land to a local land trust group on Vinalhaven, if such a group was formed, incorporated, and qualified as tax exempt by the IRS, before January 1, 1987. During this time, MCHT had also acquired two easements at the head of the Creek (Roberts and Day).
With the help of MCHT, and after public meetings on the island in late 1985, a group of interested residents, summer and year-round, under the leadership of Lea Iselin and Linda Labaree, formed the Vinalhaven Land Trust. The organization was incorporated in June 1986, and accepted as a nonprofit by the IRS in December 1986. Lea Iselin became its first president. As agreed, MCHT passed the land to VLT.
Four additional properties make up the whole of the North Perry Creek Preserve. After Leverett Saltonstall’s death in 1979, interest in preserving the Perry Creek area was maintained by his son William. The Saltonstall children, in 1986, gave MCHT a parcel of 75 acres running from Orchard Cove west to the north shore of the creek. This eastern end of the preserve is home to a stand of mature spruce forest. Its trees are tall and the canopy is closed. With limited light reaching the forest floor, there are few shrubs, giving a feeling of openness to the area. This area has been described as “cathedral-like”, and, with easy access by sea, it is a perfect spot for a picnic on solid land.
Indian Ladder Falls, known as the Anchor Parcel, was purchased from Lloyd Roberts by MCHT, and given to VLT in 1989. This small land bridge connects the north and south shores (the south side is known as Fox Rocks – another story). A key property of 60 acres, lying between Orchard Cove and the Terry property, was purchased as a bargain sale from the Jenkins family in 1996. Finally, 40.5 acres were purchased from the Day family in 2000, completing the boundaries of the preserve as we know it today.
If you are a mariner of any sort, a hiker of mountains or flatlands, a hunter with camera or bow or rifle, or a student of the natural world of any age, you can appreciate the foresight and diligence with which the early members of VLT, with help from MCHT, worked to protect for all – human and otherwise – the treasure of the North Perry Creek Preserve. As one visitor to the preserve wrote “ this island’s commitment to preserving public space is … perhaps the greatest testimony to its uniqueness and wisdom. A beautiful morning, a skyful of osprey, …a seal in the cove.”