A cataclysmic environmental event impacting down east Maine property is the recent sell-off of virtually all paper company lands. In the past, paper companies’ ownership and stewardship of the majority of the lands in the area stabilized and maintained the vast wilderness aspect of Washington County. These forests were treated like an open range for one and all to camp, hunt, hike, ATV, snowmobile and the like. There’s no point in dwelling on the aftermath, only to state that the open range has vanished, public-use trails have been cut off, and the wilderness threatened by uncontrolled development.

The Cathance Lake Association (CLA) had been and continues to be actively intent on trying to maintain the Lake and its surrounds “as is”. They voluntarily inspect the Lake for invasive plants and check the water quality annually. The members perform boat-landing inspections in an attempt to ward off any potential invasive plant infestation. Initially a Director of the CLA, Bill Gies was placed in charge of attempting to locate a white knight or knights to purchase the sold-off lands surrounding Lake Cathance, but soon discovered that no one seemed to be interested in small amounts of Maine waterfront property, while there were large acres around Baxter State Park and Grand Lake Stream to be saved.

Therefore, Cathance Lake was in the throes of change due to the sell-off of forestlands. In fact, roughly two-thirds of the lakeside property was paper-company owned. In July of 2004, two 1,000-acre plots of lakeshore property had been sold to a woods cutter and had been cut over. One plot had been sold to a private individual, and one was on the market.

It was at this juncture that Bill and Ann Gies and Jim and Sheila Ihle hatched a plan to attempt to save the 1,000-acre parcel of undeveloped lakeside property on the market and therefore at risk of falling into unknown developers' hands. Since this parcel was located just off Route 191, contained two natural harbors and numerous ecologically sensitive areas, we were convinced that it was the plot most vulnerable to reckless development.

We hoped that our good ideas and deeds in developing the land might influence and/or set a precedent for other land development on Cathance and other Maine lake communities. Our objective was then and is now to protect or minimize the disturbance to the lakeside property, interior lands and waters of environmental significance.

We are pleased to note the development of a Land Use Plan based on our environmental objectives, which turned out to be remarkably consistent with Maine’s Land Use Regulatory Commission’s (LURC’s) Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CULP), was accepted by LURC Staff with some modifications.

The land section we chose is the 1,000-acre plot located on the south shore of Cathance with approximately 3-1/2 miles of shoreline. The initial objective was to develop twenty (20) large lakefront lots, and to maintain the inland core (600 acres) as a perpetual working forest, owned and managed by us and deeded to our children and grandchildren. This land will be open to the general public as a Maine rural retreat for recreating, which is our small way of creating an open-range environment, and, hopefully encouraging other landowners to make their Maine property open to the public as well.

We also saw the need to protect and preserve the outlet waterway, which forms our eastern property flank. (See ‘OUTLET STREAM’ displayed on the Overall Plan map under SITE PLANS.) It is breathtakingly beautiful, and its role in clarifying and cleansing the water prior to its departure from the Lake is environmentally significant. We achieve this by deeding a conservation buffer of our property, which forms the western side of the stream to a depth of 250 feet inland. This land, by the way, is considered prime development land, so development dollars were purposely bypassed to help preserve the waterway, as is, for posterity.

Longer range, we expect to add eight (8) additional lakefront lots, which will extend the sub-development through Smith Cove and onto the peninsula, which forms our eastern flank, as well as placing one additional lot on the NE edge of our shoreline. A number of wooded lots may be added.

Of the 1,000 acres, which comprises Cathance Shores LLC, approximately 200 acres will be deeded to and become the sub-development known as Cathance Shores. Of the 200 acres approximately 90 acres are earmarked for home lots. The remainder is set aside as conserved lands, which will weave around and through the 21 shorefront and 10 wooded lots, which comprise the sub-development. It all adds up to greater than 50% of the shoreline and all of the small islands being conserved for posterity.

Longer range, we expect to add eight (8) additional shoreline lots, which will extend the sub-development through Smith Cove and onto the peninsula, which forms our eastern flank, as well as placing one additional lot on the NE edge of our shoreline. A number of wooded lots may be added.

Two spec Maine vacation homes are being built which employ energy savings techniques and environmentally compatible materials.

One is a 2,300+/- sq. ft. three-bedroom Katahdin Cedar Log Home built from Maine-grown, white cedar logs. The natural insulation quality of cedar logs when combined with foam insulation yields an R-factor in the mid 20s.

The other, a 4,000+/- sq. ft. Hilltop Log and Timber Home is a conventional looking four-bedroom home. Its walls are formed by employing a thick, closed-cell foam composite as the core, sandwiched between sheets of ¾” to 1” OS2 board. Both sides are finished using conventional materials. This Cathance Shores spec home will have pre-colored cedar shingles on the outside, and dry wall on the inside. This method of construction yields wall and roof R-factors in the 25 to 30+ range.

Both lakeside homes will employ propane as the fuel of choice, so as to reduce the prospect of an oil spill getting to the lake. Both homes have full cellars or lower levels. Long-lasting architectural fiberglass roof shingles will be employed. High-efficiency propane boilers will drive the hot water baseboard heaters as well as the radiant heated lower level of the Hilltop home. The Katahdin log home will also feature a RINNAI gas-driven, on-demand hot water heater. Utilizing "forever hot water tankless heating technology,” this heater costs twice what a conventional tank water system costs, but the operating savings will pay back the difference in just two years or so. On the Hilltop home, because of its larger size and diversity, this hot water system did not prove to be the best economic choice for fuel efficiency. In terms of other ‘green’ features, the decks are made from cedar, and the glass is energy efficient. All appliances will be energy-efficient as well. Great care has been taken in septic tank placement and water runoff.

...Another interesting slant to our story regards the use of the forestlands surrounding Cathance Shores. With the coming of the "Rail Trail," we are championing a connecting or shortcut loop from Marion (Route 86) through our forestlands to the main E/W trail connector near Munson Lake on the 19 Rd. This short cut or cutover trail will be beneficial for those who wish to travel to destinations other than those on the main "Rail Trail" from Calais to Machias, or as a shortcut connector for those traveling to and from the west. It will also serve as a change of scenery return loop for those from Machias.

We are taking a leading role in these efforts, working in conjunction with several local snowmobiling and ATV clubs. It is our hope to attract other adjacent landowners to join us in this endeavor, as well as combining our lands, in whole or in part, to form a large "open range" recreational park. Most of our neighbors’ lands are being utilized as working forests, which is ideal. This is just another example of our dedication to utilize our forestlands in a manner which is ecologically sound, yet of recreational benefit for one and all.