Cobble beach access gem of Bold Coast buy

A major statewide land trust announced Monday that it has conserved nearly 2 miles of shoreline along Washington County’s Bold Coast in a deal that will provide access to a scenic beach previously closed to the public.

The Maine Coast Heritage Trust has purchased land or conservation easements on roughly 1,500 acres in four contiguous parcels located between Moose Cove in Trescott and Bog Brook Cove near Cutler. The southernmost property, around Norse Pond, is adjacent to the 12,000-acre Cutler Coast Unit managed by the Maine Department of Conservation.

“Together, these properties include an incredible variety of natural resources that are valued by local residents and visitors alike,” David MacDonald, the land trust’s interim president, said in a statement. “In the coming months MCHT will be creating plans to allow public access to the cobble beaches, headlands, grasslands, pond and streams contained within these spectacular lands.”

Based in Topsham, Maine Coast Heritage Trust is one of the largest land conservation organizations in the state, having protected more than 127,000 acres during the past 38 years.

Land trust spokesman Richard Knox put the value of the four land deals at slightly more than $5 million. The land trust has already raised about half of that money from several foundations and private donors. The organization has also applied for funding from the Land for Maine’s Future program, which uses voter-approved bonds to provide matching grants to conservation projects.

Knox said the properties were attractive to the land trust for a number of reasons.

“The real gem of this is the beautiful beach where Bog Brook comes out and meets the ocean,” Knox said. The large, scenic cobble beach had previously been closed to the public. The land trust hopes to provide access to the beach later this year.

Bog Brook Cove also contains important habitat for birds as well as 88 acres of blueberry barrens that will remain in active production.

In an unusual twist, the land trust acquired the property along Moose Cove by swapping for an existing residential plot in Bog Brook Cove. The owners of the Moose Cove property, Alan Pederson and David Dixon, had planned to develop the land but instead agreed to swap for the 35-acre “homestead” in Bog Brook Cove.

The land trust will continue to hold a conservation easement on the homestead that restricts future development, Knox said. There are several other residences along the coast that are not included in the 1,500-acre land deal announced Monday.

Maine Coast Heritage Trust is among the organizations that helped the state put together the 12,000-acre Cutler Coast Unit, which includes nearly five miles of dramatic, undeveloped coastline. The land, which is popular with hikers, extends from Cutler to Whiting and includes forests, bogs, peat lands and blueberry barrens.

Knox said the land trust typically offers local communities payments in lieu of local taxes that would have been generated had the land remained in private hands.

kmiller@bangordailynews.net

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