August 15, 2005

State Board Approves IFW application for Mere Point Boat Launch

PORTLAND, Maine -- A Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife application to build an all-tide public boat launch on Mere Point in Brunswick was given unanimous approval by the Board of Environmental Protection yesterday at a public hearing in Portland. 

“The board thoroughly reviewed all the issues, and they have affirmed the need for public access while ensuring that this project is done in an environmentally responsible manner,” said Ken Elowe, Director of Resources for the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. “This project benefited from the intense scrutiny of the board, and will be a facility that will meet the needs of the public while minimizing the impact to the environment.”

The approval by the Board of Environmental Protection ensures the Mere Point Boat Launch meets or exceeds all state environmental standards. The board voted to permit the project 7-0. 

The all tide access ramp would give boaters, kayakers, canoers and pedestrians access to northern Casco Bay. It would be the only all-tide boat launch in upper Casco Bay, and the only public boat launching facility between Yarmouth and the New Meadows River. 

“We look forward to working to meet all local requirements, partnering with the town of Brunswick as the Mere Point boat launch is constructed and managed to meet the present demands for access, as well as ensure that future generations will have access to the ocean,” said Elowe.

The all-tide access point would be situated on a 7.47-acre parcel located between a marina with over 140 moorings and private boat ramp for an island community. The proposed lot has approximately 400 feet of shoreline.

The proposed all tide access ramp addresses a long-standing desire by both the Town of Brunswick and the State of Maine for all tide access to northern Casco Bay. This need was reaffirmed by by a poll of registered boaters conducted by Command Research and Kleinschmidt Associates. 

According to a report by the Army Corp of Engineers, the proposed boat launch site has been determined to be the least environmentally damaging but practical alternative of 15 sites in Northern Casco Bay. This finding came in mid-January after the Army Corp of Engineers reviewed the list of alternative sites. The project currently meets or exceeds all state environmental statutes.

With the help of a Brunswick Citizens Advisory Committee that included proponents, opponents, and officials from the town of Brunswick, the boat launch has been redesigned to better fit the needs of the town of Brunswick and state. The committee has also worked on issues such as non-boating uses, parking, site size, signage, safety, sanitary facilities, traffic, security, lighting, noise, trash management, boat sizes, and others. 

Multiple designs were examined for the site, including over 20 different layouts for parking and traffic circulation, and since its first proposal, the number of parking spaces has been reduced from 84 (with the possibility to increase to 100) to 55. The access road to the launch was moved further south to minimize traffic and environmental impacts. 
The ramp is in the narrowest intertidal zone on the property, lessening the environmental and scenic impacts. 

New road access from Mere Point Road responds to concerns of neighbors and opponents that the ramp would increase noise and traffic on the existing Birch Island Road. It eliminates the widening of the Birch Island Road Which would have had more of an impact to freshwater wetlands in the area.

The all-tide launch site is protected by the neck of Mere Point on the west and the Birch Island on the east, offering a sheltered area for launching and retrieving boats.

The proposed boat launch will consist of a floating dock system, with a ramp on either side of the floats, one ramp for launching and the other for retrieving boats. The launch site will be in an area that is already used for moorings by the private Birch Island community.

The Brunswick Town Council has voted in favor of the project several times, as it satisfies the town’s desire for an all tide boat launch to northern Casco Bay. The Department purchased the lot in January of 2002, after receiving approval from the Brunswick Town Council to go forward with plans to develop the site into a public all-tide launch site for all recreational boaters such as anglers, kayakers, sail boaters and others.

The Board of Environmental Protection is a citizen board, which by statute is to make informed, independent and timely decisions on the interpretation, administration, and enforcement of the laws relating to environmental protection and to provide for credible, fair, and responsible public participation in Department of Environmental Protection decisions The Board shall fulfill its purpose through rulemaking decisions, decisions on selected permit applications, review of the Commissioner's licensing and enforcement actions and recommending changes in the law to the Legislature".

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