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Document Title:
Screening level contaminant survey of the Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Milford, Maine. : Special Project Report
AUTHOR(S):
Steven E. Mierzykowski Kenneth C. Carr Andrew R. Major
REPORT NUMBER:
FY97-MEFO-4-EC
PAGES:
1 - 73
PUBLICATION DATE:
March 2000
ABSTRACT:
The 9,337-acre Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife Refuge is located in the Town of Milford,
Maine. The refuge is bisected by Sunkhaze Stream, the area’s major watercourse, and includes
extensive tracts of regionally-unique peat bogs. The remainder of the refuge is comprised of spruce-fir
and mixed hardwood forest and palustrine wetlands. Six brooks drain into the refuge and Sunkhaze
Stream. The area surrounding the refuge is largely undeveloped timberland except for two old landfills
that border the parcel. Along the refuge’s southern boundary is the former Town of Milford Municipal
Landfill. The town landfill operated between 1976 and 1992, receiving municipal solid waste. It was
closed and capped in 1995. The Fort James Corporation operated a paper mill sludge landfill along
the northern edge of the refuge between 1978 and 1996. The Fort James landfill was closed and
capped in 1996. These landfills represented the greatest local, point-source contaminant threat to the
refuge. Consequently, the sampling design for the screening survey was biased towards these areas.
In July 1993, three pairs of surface water and sediment samples were collected from locations along the
refuge border and within the refuge from Baker Brook, Buzzy Brook and Sunkhaze Stream. Later in
the same summer, chain pickerel and yellow perch were collected from two Sunkhaze Stream locations
within the refuge, at the confluence of Baker Brook and at the confluence with Buzzy Brook. Water,
sediment, and fish samples were analyzed for various contaminants including trace elements,
organophosphate pesticides, organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, and
furans.
PUBLISHED BY:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
DOCUMENT LINK:
http://www.fws.gov/northeast/mainecontaminants/pdf/SNK%20Final%20Report%202000.PDF, 700 KB
ADDITIONAL LINKS:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Maine Contaminants Program
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