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Tuesday, August 13, 2002
A splash of solitude - for now
Copyright © 2002 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. | ||||||||||
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The Four-Part Series: Saco River: Source to Sea | |||||||||
Michael Morris, 44, of Waterboro is a regular thrill seeker on the river. He often frequents the old, washed-out bridge in Salmon Falls, located just below the Route 202 bridge. People flock to this area in the summer to jump off the 20-foot embankment into the deep water. Morris grew up on the river and has explored every section of it that flows in Maine. The area above the Skelton Dam where he jumps, the water deep and slow because of the power station, is his favorite part. "It's completely safe as long as there are people around," he said. "And as long as you use your head." He likes to scuba-dive there, too, but he doesn't like what he finds in the river - bikes, wallets, street signs, cars and trash. A few years ago, he said, he found an L.L. Bean backpack filled with credit cards and wallets. "Somebody must have stolen them and just dumped them into the river," he said. Morris is also unhappy with the increasing number of motorboats. They started showing up in greater numbers after Skelton Dam was relicensed in 1999 and a public boat launch was built. The boats and jet skis are required to go headway speed within 200 feet of shore so they cause no wake, but more often than not, Morris said, the operators ignore that rule. Use of motorboats on the river is being examined as the Bar Mills dam in Buxton comes up for relicensing. The dam's 30- to 50-year license doesn't expire until 2005, but the evaluation process has already begun. Public access to the river is just one of the many facets considered. Francis Brautigam, a fish biologist with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, said the agency will ask for improved public access to the stretch of river between West Buxton and Bar Mills. How much improvement is still in question. "We'll probably look for a small trailer launch," he said. "Maybe for somebody who wants to duck hunt in the fall, with a small aluminum boat and a small outboard motor. We try to develop access that is consistent with existing use." Based on what Rumery has witnessed, that would not mean opening the section above Bar Mills to big boats with growling outboard motors. The people who use the river around his dam seem to want the peace and quiet they find there. They seem to enjoy being removed from the hordes of people floating through Fryeburg. And they don't seem to mind the slower water and the portages around the dams. "It's like the back side of the moon here," he said. "You can canoe it and think you are farther up north in the boonies." Staff Writer Giselle Goodman can be contacted at 324-4888 or at:
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