Porters Preserve White Loop Trail

In 1983 Nathaniel Porter donated 19 acres on the southern tip of Barters Island to the Boothbay Region Land Trust. Trails meander through old growth spruce, oak and pine along half mile of shorefront on the Sheepscot and Back rivers with lovely scenic vistas. There is a sheltered cove with a beach and a small off-shore island known as Lydia Ann’s Island. Nathaniel Porter’s father purchased this land from the Hull and Goddard families in the early 1900s. An old cellar hole still exists on the edge of the Sheepscot on the site of the Hull home. As time progressed, Nathaniel and his wife were pressed to develop or subdivide the property. Courthouse records show several deeds from the Porters establishing conservation restrictions on all their property. Ultimately, they donated the unspoiled portion of their holding to BRLT. In 2005, through a generous donation from Robert and Linda Jones, the BRLT acquired the 1.9 acre Roberts property adjacent to the Porter Preserve. Over the years, the Roberts had allowed fishermen to access the water and the deep cove on the Sheepscot River. The Joneses wrote: "The intention (collectively) from the beginning was to allow... waterfront activities to continue that the community has viewed as endangered. Our family has cherished the mixture of communities and shore and water uses that our parents and forebears found here and were drawn to a century ago. It appears to us that the scales have tipped toward large scale residential/recreational uses and away from small scale intrinsic uses." BRLT hopes that Roberts Wharf will serve as a model for other environmental organizations interested in pursuing strategies that link objectives for shorefront preservation with working waterfront goals.