Little Long Pond Meadows – restoring what never was

Bushell, Tate

From the abstract: "The meadows at Little Long Pond natural lands (Seal Harbor, Maine) is a 20-acre mosaic of post agricultural habitats consisting of a native and non-native herbaceous plants typical of downeast Maine. For most of the 20th century the meadows were owned by the Rockefeller family who managed for scenic and agricultural objectives but now under Land & Garden Preserve (the Preserve) ownership and management, primary objectives include encouraging native plants and developing structural diversity. Emphasis will be on native plants that were historically found on MDI, but currently missing from our flora. The Preserve is three years into experimenting with a variety of ‘restoration’ methods including direct seeding, live planting, and invasive plant management. While the words ‘meadow restoration’ is useful for communicating the Preserve’s work to the general public, its hardly accurate considering there never was a naturally occurring ecosystem of herbaceous native plants at the site. Using other meadows in downeast Maine as references is somewhat undesirable because they often lack the bountiful colors and richness that are found in meadows of warmer parts of New England. This restoration work is wrought with philosophical conundrums about which plants to use to construct a fabled – yet increasingly popular – ecosystem. The work is further complicated by a lack of commercial seed containing Maine genotype. The Preserve is currently looking for sites in Maine to collect seeds to be used at Little Long Pond meadows. "