Back in 2005, a little body of water in Newcastle was suddenly changed forever, literally overnight.

Sherman Lake, which had been a dammed body of water near Route One, suddenly became “Sherman Marsh” when the dam gave way in a strong storm around Columbus Day. The lake drained, leaving behind the debris of a sunken ecosystem — dead trees and rotting vegetation, and a host of lake-dwelling doomed freshwater fish, reptiles and amphibians that had been introduced to the man-made lake. The dam, owned by Maine Department of Transportation, was made irrelevant when the new bridge was constructed, and was no longer needed to serve a transportation function, but MDOT had agreed, in 1966, to maintain the dam even after the new bridge meant that Route One wasn’t using the dam to move traffic over Marsh River.

MDOT also operated the popular rest area on Sherman Lake, and there were also campgrounds on the lake that were used extensively. The lake was also used for firefighting water. Despite the dam no longer being needed for transportation, MDOT planned to rebuild the dam. However, the cost had grown to possibly $1 million, whereas removing the debris would cost $300,000, according to a letter by Commissioner David Cole, and no other agency wanted to chip in for what was, according to the agency, a local recreation area. The ecology of the region also argued against the dam’s restoration. Selectmen and residents argued for the dam’s restoration, but a series of meetings hosted by Chewonki Foundation and the Damariscotta River Association (DRA) among other conservation groups, slowly convinced the 16 immediate residents, who had used the lake for recreation such as swimming, boating and fishing of stocked fish, to allow the marsh to return to its natural course and wind its way slowly to the sea.

Over time, the tidal saltwater ecosystem recovered. According to the DRA, the marsh is home to a host of natural wildlife including bald eagles, osprey, foxes, fishers, deer, saltwater fish, shellfish, and visiting reptiles, as well as salt-tolerant plants. Most agree the change has been beneficial, although there are still some residents who live near the marsh who would have preferred the lake to be restored.

Access road improvements to the former dam site under the highway bridge have also not occurred, despite an agreement for them to be taken on by MDOT in 2010.

However, in 2015, MDOT decided to use Sherman Marsh as a wetland bank, meaning other road projects that might lose wetland could draw on acreage maintained near Sherman Marsh to keep from losing net wetland in Maine. To do that, affected residents would need to agree to easements on their properties that would be “added” to the marsh’s acreage. MDOT sent an assessor to identify the value of the easements, thentthe residents said that they heard nothing more about it until May of this year, when they got letters from MDOT with the offer.

The affected residents initially said the easements would adversely affect the way they could use their properties. Marva Nesbit has a kayak rack and a dock, and was told they would have to go. The proposed easement would have gone all the way to her back porch. Justin Wood leases some of his land for cattle grazing, something that would have been forbidden by the easement.

Almost all Sherman Lake residents said the easement price offered was too low for the amount of acreage.

And they may not have had a choice: If the residents didn’t accept the easement payment, their land was at risk of being taken by eminent domain, the letters said.

After an outcry by Newcastle residents in July, MDOT responded.

At a meeting on Aug.16 at the fire station, Deane Van Dusen, project manager for MDOT, said the easement lines, which had included a 100-foot setback, would be much more lenient. Nesbit could keep her kayak rack and dock, and residents could continue to paddle and fish as they have been doing since the dam breach. Van Dusen said that because of pollution issues relating to the cattle, MDOT offered a 50-foot setback to Wood, which was not accepted. MDOT is still in negotiations with Wood.

Van Dusen said most of the negotiations have been concluded to the satisfaction of the residents. “Everyone can continue to enjoy their property,” he said. “They will have their viewsheds, and be able to use the marsh as they’ve always done.”

Van Dusen said the I-395 extension planned in Bangor in the next few years is one of the projects where wetland loss might be offset by banking wetlands at Sherman Marsh.

At the Board of Selectmen meeting in Newcastle on Aug. 22, the board considered the best way to address the issue. Selectman Ben Frey said plans were under way to get Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King involved on behalf of the residents. Selectman Christopher Doherty noted that only private landowners appeared to be affected by the so-called “buffer zone,” the distance between the highest tide mark and the marsh water. Selectman Joel Lind said that the property in question was particularly valuable from a trade perspective. “For every acre destroyed in another project, with Sherman Marsh property as a trade, they only have to bank seven acres,” he said. “That’s an extremely low ratio, which is why they want as much as possible.” Lind said other reclaimed marsh properties have much higher ratios, in the 20s or 30s to one.

Sherman Marsh is also valuable, the board noted, because a saltwater tidal wetland can be used to replace either a saltwater wetland or a freshwater wetland, and fewer freshwater wetlands are being reclaimed.

Some questioned the authority to take the easements by eminent domain. The Maine Constitution states: “Section 21.  Private property, when to be taken.  Private property shall not be taken for public uses without just compensation; nor unless the public exigencies require it.” The question, the board wondered, was whether a wetland bank for a distant project some years in the future qualified as an exigency, or an urgent need or demand.

The value of the land offered to the homeowners and landowners on Sherman Marsh is the low amount set for nature preserves of $3.60 per square foot, not the market value of an unencumbered property with tidal saltwater privileges, the board noted.

The board decided to ask for another meeting with the Interagency Review Team before the matter is concluded.