Group on track to protect more Down East acreage

GRAND LAKE STREAM – A conservation group announced the public phase of a fundraising campaign Friday to protect an additional 6,644 acres near Grand Lake Stream from development.

The Downeast Lakes Land Trust has already conserved 27,080 acres west of this Washington County town renowned for its historic sporting camps and recreational fisheries.

On Friday, the organization’s representatives gathered on the scenic shores of Wabassus Lake to announce that they have reached the halfway point in their $3.2 million campaign to add 6,644 acres to their conservation holdings.

The property includes nine miles of frontage along Wabassus and Getchell Pug lakes, four miles of stream in the St. Croix River watershed, two miles of Machias River tributaries and 550 acres of wetlands.

The land trust plans to transfer a conservation easement to the state guaranteeing public access to the land for hiking, canoeing, hunting, snowmobiling and other traditional uses. The land will also remain in sustainable forestry, similar to the organization’s 27,000-acre Farm Cove Community Forest.

If completed, the deal would be the latest in a series of conservation efforts that have protected nearly 340,000 acres from Fourth Machias Lake in the west to Meddybemps in the south and Vanceboro on the Maine-Canadian border.

Eliza Townsend, deputy commissioner with the Maine Department of Conservation, called this citizen-led conservation effort “incredible” and said such efforts are key to Maine keeping its quality of place.

“We all know how quickly Maine is changing and what a risk we would be taking, and what a tremendous loss we would suffer, if we were not able to stitch together such an incredible quilt of lands,” Townsend said.

Late Friday morning, the surface of Wabassus Lake sparkled in the sun as a number of local residents and professional guides – many of them active with the land trust – glided “Grand Laker” canoes across the peaceful waters.

Roger Milligan, a Grand Lake Stream native and board member of the Downeast Lakes Land Trust, called the Wabassus tract an “obvious addition” to the local conservation lands.

Milligan pointed out that there are only a few, mostly rustic camps along Wabassus Lake. And the property is wedged between Farm Cove Community Forest, protected lands around Third Machias Lake and the 312,000-acre “Sunrise Easement” held by the New England Forestry Foundation.

Wabassus Lake is also a nice option for local guides when West Grand Lake or Big Lake are too rough for guests.

“It’s one of the most popular lakes for Grand Lake Stream guides,” said Milligan, who lives in nearby Princeton.

Mark Berry, executive director of the land trust, said the local community deserves “tremendous” credit for taking the initiative to protect the land. The land trust hopes to purchase the property from Timbervest LLC, a private investor group that stepped in to keep the land from being developed and closed to the public when it was for sale in 2004.

“It would be highly desirable as a kingdom lot,” Berry said, referring to a large tract of land that is purchased by an individual and then closed to the public.

Working with other organizations, the land trust has applied for state and federal grants to help purchase the land and convey the conservation easements to the state. The land is included in a larger project currently ranked as the top priority for funding under the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Legacy program in fiscal year 2009.

An anonymous donor has also pledged to match up to $60,000 in individual donations, Berry said.

For more information on the project, go to the Downeast Lakes Land Trust’s Web site at http://www.downeastlakes.org.

kmiller@bangordailynews.net

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