Easement, option, donation further work of land trust

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ORONO – Officials from the Orono Land Trust said recently they were pleased to report significant progress in ensuring the preservation of open space and the extension of trail systems in portions of northwest Orono.

A recent gift of a conservation easement from an Orono couple and a purchase option on an adjacent property off Forest Avenue advance the nonprofit organization’s mission to protect public space for the benefit of area residents. In addition, the land trust received a donation of a cabin and 2 acres of land along the Stillwater River in Old Town.

Almost five years ago, the Orono Land Trust engaged in a long-range planning process to identify how to focus its interest in acquisitions of open space, easements, and development of trails.

Members concluded that the area of Orono west of I-95 was most deserving of attention and most likely to be subject to development pressure in the next decades.

At that time there was no public protected property there, except portions of the University Forest.

The board agreed that activity to protect public space and develop a trail system would further the trust’s mission and benefit the town generally, providing the same recreational and natural amenities to future residential developments that are presently enjoyed in central Orono, with the Marsh Island Natural Area and the Colburn Natural Area.

The area is also home to the Caribou Bog, officials said, explaining that the parcel ranked in a recent study as one of the top three peat lands in the state in terms of species richness, rarity of ecological features, and diversity of vegetation types.

The bog provides habitat for at least 136 different plant species, including five species considered rare or very uncommon, two species of endangered dragonfly, and a deer wintering area and habitat for important migratory birds.

Orono residents Jim and Patricia Hinds donated a conservation easement on approximately 48 acres of their land off Forest Avenue and Taylor Road.

Seventeen acres are immediately open to public access; the remaining 31 acres are permanently restricted from development or logging activities and will be opened to general public access at such time as the Hindses no longer reside in the home that adjoins the easement property.

Jim Hinds said, “I have hiked and skied over most of the larger tracts of land in Orono, including all of the University of Maine land, and most of the woods surrounding both the north and south units of Caribou Bog.”

He added, “I don’t know of any forest in Orono that is as attractive aesthetically as the 6.5-acre core of our land. It has tall straight white pines, large oaks, and a variety of other tree species and shrubs, both conifers and hardwoods, and many kinds of ferns and mosses. The views keep changing every few feet because there is no uniformity of structure, but instead a constantly changing, extremely complex mosaic of different trees and shrubs, of different ages and form.”

Hinds also reported that core samples taken from trees on this property indicate that the forest started about 125 years ago.

Jim and Pat Hinds are botanists with a specialization in lichens. They have evidence of 25 species of mammals, two snakes, eight amphibians, 159 birds, over 250 species of vascular plants, and 69 species of lichens – of which five are thought to be largely restricted to old-growth forests and are soon to be listed as threatened by the U.S. Forest Service.

“We made our donation,” Hinds said, “to ensure that our land continues to be the local biological diversity hotspot that it currently is. Development of this land could severely impact this diversity, depriving future generations of a chance to enjoy the plants and wildlife of this area.”

Just as the Hinds easement donation was coming to fruition, OLT learned that property contiguous to the easement, a geographically unique parcel of the Caribou Bog watershed, was for sale.

The property, owned by Robert Taylor, is an 88-acre parcel including a hill which is one of the highest elevations in Orono, overlooking Pushaw Lake with views to Hermon Mountain. It includes 1,987 feet of the abandoned Veazie Railroad bed, the last remaining privately owned portion of that historic trail, and adjoins property the town of Orono recently acquired from Taylor for construction of a town garage.

The wetlands and wildlife ecology of this property and the adjoining wetlands extending to the beginnings of the Caribou Bog were studied in a graduate seminar last semester led by University of Maine assistant professor Aram Calhoun.

At the Dec. 17 board meeting of the trust, ecology and environmental sciences graduate students Megan Gahl and Catherine Schmitt, and wetlands ecology graduate student T.R. Morley gave a presentation of their wetlands mapping and evaluation of the property.

Calhoun summarized the findings,saying that protection of upland parcels adjoining complex wetland systems such as the Caribou Bog is well-established in the scientific literature as important for the maintenance of ecosystems and wildlife habitat.

The asking price of the property is $50,000. OLT has secured an option to purchase the property, subject to a survey, title search and independent appraisal, and must decide whether to move ahead with the acquisition by the option date of April 15.

In December, the board unanimously authorized a fund-raising campaign to secure pledges to purchase this property should background work be favorably resolved. Anyone interested in helping the trust move ahead with this acquisition may contact Sharon Tisher at 581-3158.

Also last fall, the Orono Land Trust received a donation of a sturdy, 1950s-era log cabin, with brick chimney and fireplace, on 2 acres.

Last September, Washington attorney Caroline Morris e-mailed several Maine conservation organizations with an offer to donate the property.

President Jay Johnson ensured that OLT was the first to respond, and was out to inspect the property on the shores of the Stillwater River within a day. The property was appraised at $29,000, and board member Sharon Tisher oversaw the environmental due diligence for the donation.

By year-end, the property was conveyed to OLT, with help from George Kurr and Dave Chase, who donated their legal services to the trust. Two stewards have been assigned to oversee use of the property. The board has not yet decided on its long-term intentions for the property.

It is the first “shelter” OLT has owned. Morris donated the property “no strings attached” and OLT is free to sell the property to raise funds for other efforts, should a sale be approved by the board and the membership. Any members interested in seeing OLT’s new acquisition or in offering suggestions for future use or disposition should contact Jay Johnson at 866-2511.

The Orono Land Trust exists, officials said, to protect and preserve a portion of the natural environment for the benefit of all residents of Orono. In doing so, OLT seeks to balance development with the conservation of open spaces.