Conservancy to Acquire 10,000 Acres Down East
Posted on: Thursday, 29 September 2005, 18:00 CDT
By WENDY M. FONTAINE; OF THE NEWS STAFF
A federal grant will allow The Nature Conservancy to protect nearly 10,000 acres in northern Hancock County, including significant rearing and spawning habitat for Atlantic salmon.
The property is located on the west branch of the Narraguagus and Spring rivers in Townships 10 and 16, between Cherryfield and Franklin.
Together with nearby conservation lands at Donnell Pond and Spring River, the acquisition will establish the largest ecological reserve in Maine, according to Bruce Kidman, director of communications and government relations for the conservancy.
The $500,000 grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund will allow the organization to purchase the 9,934 acres from H.C. Haynes Inc., a forestry harvester based in Mattawamkeag. The sale is scheduled for next week.
"We've had our eye on this land for quite a while," Kidman said during a telephone interview Wednesday from his office in Brunswick. "It has some important ecological values."
The federal government classified Atlantic salmon as an endangered species in 2000, and the Narraguagus River is one of eight Maine rivers considered critical to the species' recovery.
The award was announced this week by U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins.
In 2003, the conservancy signed an option to buy the property, which includes half of Tunk Mountain. After the agreement was reached, the forestry company scaled back its harvesting plan and established a no-cut buffer around the rivers to avoid disturbing the salmon habitat.
The area includes 25,000 square meters of juvenile rearing habitat for Atlantic salmon and 1,287 square meters of spawning habitat. The total cost of the acquisition includes the $2.2 million purchase of land and a $350,000 stewardship endowment.
Kidman said the conservancy is still working to raise funds for the endowment.
The sale will establish 24,000 acres of contiguous conservation land in Hancock County.
Source: Bangor Daily News
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