Between the Rivers

 Presented with Cooperator of the Year Award

By Stuart Hedstrom
Staff Writer

SHIRLEY — Combining sustainable forestry with innovative forestry education on its 1,700 acres, Between the Rivers was presented with the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District’s (PCSWCD) Cooperator of the Year Award during a tour and ceremony on Sept. 17.

Located in the forest, accessible by following several miles of dirt roads, Between the Rivers maintains and protects the natural resources of the area while educating high school-aged students as an experiential environmental education program for the Learning Clinic, Inc. with the goals of assisting the pupils in meeting academic goals and preparing them for future experiences in educational, vocational and community settings.

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom

OUTSTANDING COOPERATORS OF THE YEAR — Ray and Barbara DuCharme, center with plaque, of Between the Rivers in Shirley are the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District 2015 Outstanding Cooperators of the Year. Making the presentation to the DuCharmes on Sept. 17 were PCSWCD directors and staff, from left, Vice Chair Toby Hall, Treasurer Janet Sawyer, Associate Supervisor Sam Brown, Executive Director Joanna Tarrazi, Forester Kirby Ellis, Technical Coordinator Lynn Lubas, Board Chair and Forester Gordon Moore, Educational Coordinator Kacey Weber and Supervisor Bruce Tally.

“The whole reason for being here is to honor Ray and Barbara and what they have done with this place for conservation,” PCSWCD Board Chair Gordon Moore said about Between the Rivers founders and operators Ray and Barbara DuCharme during the afternoon award ceremony. He cited their sustainable forestry practices as a reason for them receiving the honor, which is part of the curriculum with students learning concepts such as forest restoration, tree identification, tree pollination, wildlife and habitat management, map and compass skills and wetland management.

Moore presented the DuCharmes with a sign to be displayed on the Between the Rivers Lodge, indicating they are the 2015 Outstanding Cooperators of the Year. “It’s something you can post out front with pride,” Moore said.

“The staff appreciate it, they are energized by it and are the families that come here,” Ray DuCharme said about the honor. He and his wife were also given a framed certificate saying Between the Rivers is being honored in recognition of its forestry stewardship and education.

“We are really between the rivers,” DuCharme said at the start of the day with the non-profit organization  having the east and west branches of the Piscataquis River to either side of the parcel. “It is a great setting for us and for students to be engaged in.”

Between the Rivers was founded in 2006, built upon property the DuCharmes discovered while canoeing in the Shirley Bog. In the summer of 2006 three initial buildings were constructed and in the years since a lodge was built as well as other space for classroom and log cabins for staff and students to live and learn.

The DuCharmes have worked with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s Maine Forest Service, and local foresters Gary Morse and Kirby Ellis to achieve their goals of sustainable well-managed forests. Morse, who wrote the forestry management plan for Between the Rivers, and Ellis both teach students at the school.

“Over the time we have been here we have really seen that regenerating of forest,” Ray DuCharme said. “It’s a great opportunity for kids to learn you develop a plan.”

Citing the expansion of protected lynx habitat and this impact of tree thinning, DuCharme said, “Nothing is fixed and you have to be prepared to change plans.” He said this provides another lesson on forest stewardship.

“We are very, very interested in wildlife and supporting wildlife,” DuCharme said. He said over time smaller pieces of property were combined to form what is now the 1,700 acres of Between the Rivers. This land now is developing into habitat for various species.

Visitors to Between the Rivers on Sept. 17 were given a tour of the property. Several of the students demonstrated techniques for estimating the number of trees in a certain parcel, and later Ellis took a core sample from a balsam fir indicating the tree is about 40 years old.

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom

AGE TEST — Forester Kirby Ellis shows a core sample taken from a balsam fir to indicate the age of the tree, which turned out to be about 40. Ellis was part of a tour at Between the Rivers in Shirley, which on Sept. 17 was formally presented with the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District Outstanding Cooperator of the Year Award.