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History of the
Refuge
Sunkhaze
Meadows National Wildlife Refuge was
established on November 22, 1988, with management
responsibility initially assigned to the Refuge
Manager at Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge. On
December 5, 1989, the first Refuge Manager for
Sunkhaze Meadows NWR reported for duty and a refuge
headquarters was established.
In the early 1990's, the Benton
and Sandy Stream Divisions were added to the refuge under the
auspices of the 1990 Farm Bill. These small areas are
respectively located in the towns of Benton and Unity, Maine.
Both are managed for grassland-nesting birds.
Four conservation easements are
also managed by Sunkhaze Meadows Refuge. They are the Downing,
Fortin, Miller, and Quayle Easements, totaling seven separate
parcels of land. The four parcels of the Downing Easement are
located in Corinth and Exeter. The Fortin Easement is in
Fairfield, the Miller Easement is in Starks, and the Quayle
Easement is in Patten.
Prior to
designation as a national wildlife refuge,
traditional consumptive uses of Sunkhaze Meadows
resources included hunting, fishing, trapping,
logging, and blueberry and cranberry harvesting.
The primary game species sought were deer, Ruffed
Grouse, American Woodcock, and waterfowl. The
refuge area had been open to bear
and moose hunting,
but didn't get much activity because of the
difficulty in gaining access to the area and retrieving game.Bear,
beaver, muskrat, otter, fisher, and other furbearers were the
species trapped. The refuge is now open to big game hunting,
upland game hunting, and waterfowl hunting. Trapping is allowed
if a refuge permit is obtained.
Sunkhaze Meadows Refuge was acquired to ensure its
ecological integrity and the continued availability
of its wetland, stream, forest and wildlife
resources to the citizens of the United States. The
purpose of acquisition, under the authority of the
Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956, was "... for the
development, advancement, management, conservation,
and protection of fish and wildlife resources ...and ... for the benefit of the United States Fish
and Wildlife Service, in performing its activities
and services. Such acceptance may be subject to the
terms of any restrictive or affirmative covenant, or
condition of servitude . . . “The Land and Water
Conservation Fund was the source of funding for the
purchase.
Carlton Pond
Waterfowl Production Area is a 1,055-acre marsh
located in the town of Troy in Waldo County.
Until
December
1990, Carlton Pond WPA was administered by
Moosehorn
NWR. Administrative and managerial
responsibilities for the area were then transferred
to Sunkhaze Meadows NWR.
The original dam at Carlton Pond
was a rock structure built in 1850 to provide water power for a
sawmill operation. The USFWS acquired the property in the
mid-1960's and, in 1972, reconstructed the dam to maintain the
integrity of the structure and to assure continued maintenance
of the open water, marsh, and wetland areas created by the
original dam. A natural overflow near the structure provides an
additional escape route for high water thereby affording extra
protection for the dam and control structures. A right-of-way
provides access to the dam for maintenance and public use.
Carlton Pond WPA has historically
provided good nesting habitat for waterfowl, although
quantitative data are lacking for the number of waterfowl
produced. In the early 1970's the State of Maine Department of
Inland Fisheries and Wildlife released Canada geese on the area
as part of a statewide goose restoration program. Several
broods of geese are now raised on the WPA and immediate vicinity
each year.
Friends of
Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. PO Box 450. Milford
ME 04461
info@sunkhaze.org
Sunkhaze
Meadows NWR is managed by the staff of Maine Coastal Islands
NWR. PO Box 495. Rockport ME 04856. (207) 236-6970
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