Woolwich selectmen visited the site of a new boat launch planned at the lower end of George Wright Road Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 10. Kennebec Estuary Land Trust (KELT) is paying for the launch’s design and construction, part of an estimated $3.5 million project two years in the making and funded through federal and state grants.

The Back River Creek Marsh Restoration and Resilience Project, as it’s called, includes the removal of a small bridge and culvert along with an earthen berm to create a new tidal channel of about 150 feet from the Pleasant Cove/Back River Creek estuary. The work also includes moving Bath Water District’s 16-inch water transmission line that’s presently just a few feet beneath the pavement here. What excites the selectboard most about the KELT project is the planned construction of the new boat launch.

“The really good thing is we’re getting this at no cost to the town,” commented Selectman Jason Shaw. “When it’s eventually finished it will be on town-owned land fronting Pleasant Cove.” The old launching area is on state-owned property, a short walk from the planned site of the new one. Pleasant Cove and the surrounding shoreline are part of the Robert E. DeWick Recreation Area, popular with kayakers, canoeists, anglers, duck hunters and bird watchers. The former launch, now covered with seaweed and driftwood, was permanently closed as part Maine Department of Transportation’s Station 46 Bridge Project. The new bridge recently opened to traffic but work continues to remove the temporary bridge and causeway built by Woolwich contractor Reed & Reed Inc. to keep Route One traffic moving during the construction.

“Even though we’re a town with a lot of water frontage, we actually have very little public access to the water,” Selectman Dale Chadbourne told Wiscasset Newspaper afterward the site visit. Chadbourne was glad KELT offered to include the boat launch in its plans but he was hoping work on it might start sooner.

Ruth Indrick, KELT project director, arranged for the Sept. 10 meeting to brief the selectboard, Bath Water District and Maine Department of Environmental Protection staff on the project, which has progressed to the pre-permitting phase. In an email to Wiscasset Newspaper afterwards she stated, along with DEP approval, the project may need to undergo a review by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and could fall under the Natural Resources Protection Act. The permitting process, she added, likely won’t be completed until sometime in 2025. After all the permits are secured, Indrick said KELT will seek bids on the project that’s being engineered by HNTB of South Portland, the firm that designed the new Station 46 bridge and Route One causeway.

Of the Back River Creek Marsh project Indrick wrote, “This will fully restore 99 acres of tidal marsh, partially restore 58 acres of tidal marsh, and allow fish passage into 3.34 stream miles.” The scenic creek and marsh serves as an important spawning area for migratory birds and fish including ducks, alewives, striped bass, and shortnose sturgeon. Indrick previously stated the primary sources of KELT’s funding for the project(s) are the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's National Coastal Resilience Fund. Additional funding is provided by Maine's Stream Crossing Infrastructure Improvement Grant and The Nature Conservancy.

David King, selectboard chairman, said the town knew it was losing access to its boat launch over a year ago when voters agreed to discontinue the lower end of George Wright Road which formerly linked up with Route One. “From what I heard the new launching area will look very similar to the old one and continue to be for hand-carried use – kayaks, canoes and small boats. Because this is a spawning area for sturgeon, you can only use a motor during duck hunting season,” he explained.

Selectman Tommy Davis was encouraged to see the KELT project moving forward. “I think the new town boat ramp and waterfront park too will be much more accessible and inviting, and the removal of the old box culvert will be a boon to the wetland habitat on the north side of Route One,” he wrote in an email to Wiscasset Newspaper. The waterfront park Davis was referring to is Nequasset Park. KELT is paying for a new leach field adjacent to it and access road behind the municipal building.