by Gina Hamilton
Coastal Journal staff

BATH — Against the loveliness of a blazing autumn backdrop, Bath’s nonprofits and those who support them came out to encourage citizens to get involved in community affairs.  And for a few of those citizens, the City offered special recognition.

The Citizen Involvement Day awards, now 12 years old, are the centerpiece of Main Street Bath’s Autumnfest, which included children’s and family’s activities such as window painting, scarecrow building, pie contests, and a craft fair.

At Waterfront Park, at 1 p.m., the awards celebrated physical activity, Bath’s shipbuilding history, and one of Bath’s special characters, Bernie Wyman.

by Gina Hamilton
Coastal Journal staff

AT THE WOOLWICH-WISCASSET TOWN LINE — A small brook in the midcoast is well on its way to returning to its natural state at long last.

Montsweag Brook is a coastal stream that drains into Montsweag Estuary, on the west side of Chewonki Neck. The brook is a minor tributary to the Back River (Sheepscot River system), originating from a 10.5 square mile watershed in the towns of Wiscasset, Woolwich, and Dresden, a forested swampy wetland.

In 1968, Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company built a 30-foot concrete dam on lower Montsweag Brook to supply emergency water for their nuclear facility on Bailey Point. When Maine Yankee closed in 1997, the dam was left intact, but as part of the 2008 Natural Resources Damages Restoration Plan and Settlement Agreement (NRDAR) between Maine Yankee and the State of Maine, Chewonki was given ownership of the lower dam and an easement on the Wiscasset side of the brook that stretches two miles upstream to another, smaller dam (currently owned by Central Maine Power), to compensate Wiscasset for groundwater contamination elsewhere in the town.

by Gina Hamilton
Coastal Journal staff

PORTLAND — On Monday, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree met with Department of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and local fishermen to get their input on how to address fisheries enforcement issues and better support coastal communities.

“I’m so glad that the Secretary took the time to really listen to Maine fishermen-- who are innovative leaders in their industry here in New England--to hear their perspective on problems in fisheries enforcement and their ideas on addressing them,” said Pingree.  “I’m hopeful the Secretary will leave Maine with some concrete ideas about how to move forward and support our fishermen.  The plans he talked about today are a good step in that direction.”

by Gina Hamilton
Coastal Journal staff

WISCASSET — A week ago, Chewonki added wind to its repetoire of renewable energy sources.

After fours years of effort, a 100-foot wind tower was raised and is currently generating electricity on the nonprofit’s 400-acre campus.  The tower raising was planned for Thursday, September 16, at 11 a.m. at Salt Marsh Farm, Chewonki’s diversified organic farm located on the campus.

The installation consists of a 100-foot self-supporting tower carrying a 6.6-kilowatt wind turbine, providing power to Chewonki’s largest staff housing building and producing an estimated 6,000 kilowatt-hours per year.

“The building currently consumes about 5,500 kilowatt-hours of power per year,” according to Chewonki Sustainability Coordinator Peter Arnold.  “ On balance, this turbine moves the energy needs of this building from the power grid and to local, sustainable wind.”  Because the turbine is a “grid-tied system,” any electricity not used by the building will be metered and generate credits that can be used in the future, says Arnold.