Meet Amanda Devine, who takes care of 10 Maine islands

Amanda Devine is a regional steward with the Maine Coast Heritage Trust, the Topsham-based nonprofit with holdings and easements on more than 100 preserves on the Maine coast. She’s in charge of visiting and taking care of 10 of Casco and Muscongus bays’ most appealing islands, including the trust’s recently acquired Goslings. We called her up to talk about poison ivy, running a chainsaw while eight months pregnant and how many times she applied to the trust before they gave her our – oops, her – dream job.

SIREN SONG: Devine is from Virginia but used to visit Maine in the summers (she has family in Ellsworth) and went to college at Bates. She was in Alaska working at a lodge in Denali National Park as a naturalist and guide when the siren song of Maine Coast Heritage Trust first began humming in her ear. One day in 2005 she had just three people to guide, a man and two children. They hopped in her truck, climbed a mountain together and just generally had a great time. “They were really fit and athletic,” Devine said. “I just thought they were neat people.” It turned out to be Jay Espy, the head of the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation, who at that time was president of the trust. “I got to thinking,” Devine said. “And when it was time for me to find something else, I applied at Maine Coast Heritage Trust.”

IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T: She applied for the first time after finishing a graduate degree at the University of Vermont (the Field Naturalist Program). That was 2007. “They passed me up because I was young and stupid,” Devine said, laughing. She took a job with the Royal River Conservation Trust in Yarmouth. “That was how I got started doing stewardship.” She tried again at the trust in 2008 and was turned down again. Then in late 2009 she got a tip from Jane Arbuckle, who is now her boss, that there was an opening she should apply for. “I had to wear them down.”

RATTLE IT OFF: Her territory runs from Northport to Kittery, and her responsibilities include checking on mainland easements and making regular trips to the trust’s islands. She rattles off a list of her responsibilities that includes Ash Island near Owls Head and two islands in Muscongus Bay, Friendship’s Long Island and Louds Island. In Casco Bay, Devine keeps an eye on the Goslings and Whaleboat, Clapboard, Malaga and Lanes islands. That last is at the mouth of the Royal River in Yarmouth and has a close connection with a certain Freeport family. “I could talk about Lanes Island for three hours,” Devine said. The original L.L. Bean had a hunting camp out there, and his grandson Leon donated the island to Maine Coast Heritage Trust in 2013. One of her upcoming tasks is to remove or burn the debris of the old camp where L.L. and his friend George Soule would set up shop to hunt black ducks – it has become a hazard.

WATERWORLD: When she’s out on the islands, her dog Fritz is usually at her side. “The Casco Bay islands we check on a lot, because they get a lot of use.” Checking might mean fixing a sign or picking up trash. “Every once in a while you have to clean up after some inconsiderate camper. I think of that as the park ranger part of the job.” Then there is the physical labor. “I’ll spend tomorrow clearing trees,” she said. “There are about a million trees that have blown down in the winter on Louds Island.”

CHAINSAW MAMA: Did we mention Devine is eight months pregnant? “My chainsaw chaps still fit!” she said. “They’re Kevlar and bright orange. I just have a giant belly that sticks out.” She plans to work up until her due date. “I am really lucky in that I feel strong and fit. I can still jog a little bit.” Yes, her doctor is aware of her work life and is OK with the chainsaw business. But her seasonal assistant, Caitlin Gerber, “is starting to get a little protective of me.”

PITCH THAT TENT: A frequent misconception about the trust’s stewardship of islands is that the conservation group prohibits camping. Not so; many islands are still very much open to (respectful) campers. “Ninety-nine times out of a 100 the answer is going to be, ‘Of course you can,’ ” Devine said. “And you can still have that fire on the beach.” On Whaleboat, which already has two first-come, first-served campgrounds, a new site on the northwestern side is meant to accommodate organized groups who plan ahead (it’s reservation only). The rare off-limits sites are places where there might be, say, a seabird-nesting conservation effort underway.

WEED WHACKER: If you’ve noticed a sign for poison ivy on one of those islands, chances are good that Devine put it there. And that she’s come through with a weed whacker and spray to at least keep the plants from impinging on the paths. Malaga in particular has been legendary for poison ivy. “It’s not as bad as it used to be,” Devine said. “Lanes’ is worse. That’s my opinion.” But no one is going to get rid of all of it, ever. “We recognize that it is a native species.” But it also spreads aggressively, so controlling it is important. Wiping it out though? Not an option: “The berries are an incredibly important food source for birds.” Who knew?

BUSWOMAN’S HOLIDAY: Devine is married to a wetlands scientist she met when both worked for the town of Yarmouth. The couple lives with friends on a farm in Pownal – David Buchanan, as it happens, the author of the acclaimed book “Taste, Memory: Forgotten Foods, Lost Flavor, and Why They Matter” and his wife Karla Hyde, who have started an orchard and hard cider-making business. Nothing like having a wetlands scientist and a botanist around when you’re starting an orchard from scratch. “They know that I am handy and I like to toil outside,” Devine said.