Funds dispensed to protect state land Maine gets $10 million

An ambitious project to protect more than 650,000 acres of timberland in northern Maine got a major boost with Monday’s announcement by congressional officials that the state will receive more than $10 million in federal funds to help buy land and easements.

The West Branch Project, which involves two private landowners, state and federal officials and the Forest Society of Maine, aims to protect the northern end of Moosehead Lake and the headwaters of the Penobscot and the St. John rivers.

The $10.35 million approved by Congress on Friday brings the federal funding committed to the project’s second phase to $14.35 million. That’s nearly half the $30 million in federal money that coordinators hope to secure.

“It’s a terrific first step,” said Leslie Hudson of the Forest Society of Maine, which has been negotiating the terms of an easement with Wagner Forest Management, the company that manages the land for two companies. “But we have a lot more to go.”

Maine received the largest chunk of federal funding from the Forest Legacy Program in the budget that was approved by Congress on Friday.

The state had asked for $12.5 million for the West Branch Project and another $1.17 million to acquire 3,400 acres around Tumbledown Mountain near Mt. Blue State Park. The money for the latter project was approved in full.

Hudson said she believes Maine received a considerable amount of federal money because the West Branch Project serves as a model of how public and private entities can work together to preserve large tracts of land.

“This is the way it should be for future developments,” said U.S. Rep. John Baldacci, who announced the federal funding Monday morning. He said this was a model project because the state, landowners and conservation groups are working together to make the project a reality.

The West Branch project consists of two phases. In the first, the state has already purchased 10 miles along the north shore of Moosehead Lake, 4,200 acres around Big Spencer Mountain southeast of the lake and 41/2 miles along the West Branch of the Penobscot River.

In addition, an easement on 67,500 acres north of the lake was secured on land owned by Yankee Forest, LLC.

That phase was helped along with $4 million in federal funding earlier this year. Another $1 million is being sought from the Land for Maine’s Future program. The Forest Society of Maine is seeking to raise $4 million in private donations to complete the first phase, which is slated to be done next summer.

The second phase consists of an easement on 515,000 acres owned by Yankee Forest and Great Northwoods, LLC. The land, more than twice the size of Baxter State Park, will remain in timber production, but harvesting will be restricted to protect endangered plants and animals, scenic vistas and water bodies. The public will be guaranteed access and no development will be allowed.

This phase will also include state purchase of about 40,000 acres, but the location of that land has yet to be determined, Hudson said.

This part of the project, which is scheduled to be completed in 2002, is estimated to cost $49 million. In addition to the rest of the federal funding that will be sought, $15 million in private donations needs to be raised to complete the second phase.

Ralph Knoll, director of planning and acquisitions for the Bureau of Parks and Lands, said the federal funding announced Monday provided “a shot in the arm” for both projects. He said the level of federal conservation funding was unprecedented and he hoped it would spur private donors to give money to the projects.

As for the Tumbledown Mountain project, he said the federal funding is the first money committed to date. He estimated $7 million would be needed to purchase land around the mountain near Mt. Blue State Park.

The Land for Maine’s Future Board will be asked to contribute $500,000, $1 million will be sought from private donors, and the federal government will be asked to contribute the rest, Knoll said.