TOWNSHIP 6 – A campaign to preserve thousands of acres in western Maine has received a big boost with pledges of more than $2 million in state and federal funds.

The federal Forest Legacy Program announced last week it has allocated $1 million – on top of $600,000 it pledged last fall – to help preserve 11,800 acres at Tumbledown Mountain. The Land for Maine’s Future board also granted $1.15 million last week for the land.

The money will help acquire 4,000 acres outright, and buy a conservation easement over another 7,800 acres that will prohibit development and mandate sustainable forestry practices.

The purchases are part of a larger effort to buy and preserve more than 33,000 acres in the area around Tumbledown Mountain and Mount Blue State Park in Franklin County west of Farmington.

Ralph Knoll of the state’s Bureau of Parks and Lands said the total cost to preserve the 11,800 acres is expected to be about $3.5 million. The campaign is still $150,000 to $200,000 short.

“We’ve worked very hard, but we still have a gap we need to close with fund raising,” Knoll said. “This is great, we’re all ecstatic. Once again Maine has fared very well with the Legacy program.”

Land preservationists are working to protect another 5,000 acres in the Mount Blue State Park region through conservation easements and purchases that are critical to conserve the area’s trail system, he said.

Last month, conservationists completed the acquisition of 2,468 acres, known as the Hedgehog Hill parcel adjacent to Mount Blue State Park, for $980,000.

If all goes according to plan, Knoll said about 17,000 acres would be protected by the end of the year, which is more than half the total goal.