State buys acreage for wildlife habitat

LUBEC — A 194-acre property on Straight Bay in Lubec, valued for its wildlife habitat, has been bought by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for $152,000.

According to Alan Brooks, executive director of the Quoddy Regional Land Trust Inc., the Morang Point purchase includes 15,520 feet of shorefront on Dougherty and Morang coves. Black ducks and other waterfowl frequent the point’s protective coves in winter and during migrational flights, Brooks said.

“Right from the start, we knew this parcel was key to conserving the wildlife resources of Straight Bay,” Brooks said Monday in a prepared statement. “Not only does it have critical shorefront, including extensive salt marshes, but it also has uplands acreage important to bear, deer and a variety of other game and non-game species.”

The Quoddy Regional Land Trust was interested in buying Morang Point as soon as its owners, Ralph and Barbara Reed of Stonington, put it up for sale, Brooks said. The trust was “notified” by Barbara Chamberlain, an agent with Due East Realty of Whiting, that the property was “available,” Brooks said.

Lacking the $152,000 selling price, the trust approached IF&W and other potential funding sources for help. The North American Conservation Act subsequently provided the funds to buy Morang Point.

“Although it took a long time to deal with title and other issues, IF&W never wavered in its commitment to this purchase,” Brooks said, praising Gary Donovan, director of IF&W’s Wildlife Division, for “seeing this project through.”

Brooks stressed that the property was obtained from willing sellers and not arbitrarily taken. “In this case, the land was on the market,” Brooks said. “The owners had already made a decision to sell. We’re just glad we learned about it in time to make a difference.”

“I think the most wonderful thing is that the land is protected,” Barbara Reed, one of the owners who sold the land, said recently. “I’m glad the state has it. I didn’t want to see the property developed.”