5/5/10

A quick focus on stream erosion today. In Norridgewock, Maine, the Sandy River is encroaching on the dirt Sandy River Road. The town has closed 200 feet of that road, where a 50-foot crack wanders five to ten feet from the edge. Perhaps most affected by the erosion are the people at Hilton Farm, who now have to drive 22 miles round-trip out of their way to access the southern half of the farm - a detour that the farmers estimate costs between $50 and $100 per trip. Federal regulations prohibit reconstruction of the road until after the endangered Atlantic salmon smolting season, which ends July 1.

To the east, on the Sebasticook River where the Fort Halifax dam was removed, the historic Fort Hill Cemetery continues to slide into the river. Resident Mary Ellen Fletcher is quoted as saying, "Now, even the dead cannot rest in peace."