The Harriet L. Hartley Conservation Area
The Harriet L. Hartley Conservation Area is an 8 acre parcel of intertidal land located just off of Route 1 at the border of Belfast and Northport, where the Little River flows out to Belfast Bay at Brown’s Cove.
The intertidal zones of the coast of Maine are home to crabs, mussel beds, algae species including rockweed and bladderwrack, periwinkles, minnows, barnacles and more. Stationary organisms in the intertidal zone are specially adapted to changing salinity and conditions as they become submerged and dry out with the incoming and outgoing tides.
While wandering the intertidal flats of the Harriet L. Hartley Conservation Area you may find your body slowing down as you navigate among the mud and seaweed and your mind becoming delighted by the hiding creatures and many surprises to be found in the tide pools. Time seems to stop when steeped in this unique environment. Wandering the intertidal zone is especially suited to children (of all ages)!
The Audubon Society recognizes Brown’s Cove as a significant shoreland bird habitat.
To learn more about life in the intertidal zone check out these books:
-Life Between the Tides: Marine Plants and Animals of the Northeast, by John Moring
-Life on Intertidal Rocks: A Guide to the Marine Life of the Rocky North Atlantic Coast, by Cherie Hunter Day
Visiting the Conservation Area
From Route 1 coming from Belfast, turn left into the driveway at the Little River Center and park at the left side of the parking lot. Follow signs to the Conservation Area that lead up a path to the right of the white house. Stop and enjoy the view out to the bay from a bench at the top of the knoll or continue down to the intertidal area. Low to mid-tide is the best time for exploring the mud flats. Keep an eye out—the tide comes in fast!
You are also welcome to explore Brown’s Cove and the Harriet L. Hartley Conservation Area by boat.
A Photo Tour of the Conservation Area
What Makes the HLH Conservation Area so special?
By Jeffrey Mabee, owner and and longtime resident of the conservation area
What is it that makes the Harriet L. Hartley Conservation area so special? Surely it would be special if it was just a corner of a cove. But here the Little River ebbs and flows and carries fresh water into the cove. Just to watch the river cutting through the flats and out between the granite ledges, which are covered with bladderwrack, is worth a short walk out on the intertidal zone. The ledges become mountain forests of erect bladderwrack (rockweed) at high tide and to snorkel through the rockweed at high tide is like flying through a forest. A walk out onto the intertidal zone is a walk of discovery. There are many shells, stones of every color and description and if you are lucky you may find a mill ball, used in grinding something (perhaps gunpowder) at what used to be a tide mill at the mouth of the river. At the right sun angle you can see small spurts of water from the abundant razor clams…