Medomak Valley Land Trust assesses future goals

WALDOBORO – After a decade of volunteer work to protect the local watershed, the Medomak Valley Land Trust has six conservation easements within the 90,000-acre basin that flows from Liberty to Pemaquid Point.

The efforts of some 300 members of the private nonprofit group are ongoing, but its latest accomplishment came in January through a Land For Maine’s Future grant to protect 719 acres of Clarry Hill, which is in Union and Waldoboro, and primarily is blueberry land.

Several land trust members talked Friday about the goals of the 300-350-member nonprofit organization, noting that Clarry Hill is one of about 16 projects in which it is negotiating.

“This is the first time we’ve tried to protect farmland,” said Susan Morris, a Waldoboro member and founder of MVLT. Morris is also a board member of Maine Farmland Trust.

The 719-acre easement involves the summit of Clarry Hill and its western slopes, as well as some of the shoreline of Storer Pond. Clarry Hill has a total of about 2,500 acres – all of which someday could be protected, they said.

MVLT strives to permanently protect land within the Medomak River watershed and educate the public about the importance of preserving property for its natural, recreational, scenic and productive values. The watershed stretches from Liberty to Pemaquid Point and comprises 13 towns.

In the case of Clarry Hill, the land will continue in private ownership, but will remain agricultural, said Janet McMahon of Waldoboro, who is chairwoman of the lands committee. The Clarry Hill property also has wildlife and scenic value.

From the top of Clarry Hill, Mount Washington can be seen in one direction, Monhegan Island from another and also a glimpse of Penobscot Bay.

The MVLT members would not disclose the amount the Clarry Hill landowners will receive from the Land for Maine’s Future award, explaining they still are in negotiations.

Included in the six conservation easements already held by the land trust, are 42 acres, with 6,770 feet of saltwater frontage at the Hay Farm in South Waldoboro and 31 acres with 2,800 feet of shore frontage at the north shore of Havener Cove at Dutch Neck in Waldoboro. The six easements total 167 acres with 3.9 miles of saltwater shore frontage and 800 feet of pond frontage.

Since it began, MVLT has assumed ownership of 56-acres of land. In December 1994, the then three-year-old organization signed it first conservation easement in partnership with Maine Coast Heritage Trust for the Hay Farm property.

“Maine is one of the leaders in the land trust movement,” said Secretary Susan Alexander of Friendship, noting that there are about 80 land trusts statewide.

There is “no competition between land trusts,” Morris said. “We all try to help each other.”

MVLT now has reached a point where its volunteer force is not enough. It currently is advertising for an executive director to be responsible for the overall administration of the organization.

MVLT uses many tools for protecting land and is supported through donations of land, private and corporate contributions, membership dues, bequests and funding from foundations and grants.

The tools used are conservation easements and land donations.

Landowners interested in protecting property from future development can accomplish this through a conservation easement with a land trust. This type of easement leaves the land in private ownership, but places restrictions on future development. A conservation easement also can result in a variety of tax savings.

The donation of land can result in a substantial income-tax deduction and can include different types of restrictions on the land.

Sometimes property owners decide to give property to a land trust with no strings attached, they said, adding that in some cases the organization can sell the land to raise money for other projects.

So far, all of MVLT’s conservation easements have been donated, they said.

Recently, Alexander and McMahon talked briefly with selectmen about the idea of protecting 300 acres of town-owned land, known as Quarry Hill Farm, which was part of the assets in the purchase of the Waldoboro Water Company.

At the request of a selectman, the land trust members explained ways the town could preserve the site. The property, located about a mile from town, off Depot Street, has blueberry fields and a quarry. As a possible starting point, the women suggested to the board that the townspeople be surveyed as to what they would like to do with the property.

“We, as a land trust, are looking at all sorts of areas … ponds, islands, river frontage,” McMahon said. “There’s still a lot of opportunity [in the Medomak River watershed] that other areas have lost.”

McMahon called the Quarry Hill Farm property a “real plus” for the people of Waldoboro, in having that amount of land that could be protected for activities, such as hunting, hiking, cross-country skiing or walking. The land also could be used for selective timber cutting or leased as blueberry land, she said.

For more information about the land trust, write to Medomak Valley Land Trust, P.O. Box 180, Waldoboro 04572 or call 832-5570.