GRAND LAKE STREAM, Maine — With the purchase of a conservation easement on more than 21,000 acres, the state has helped preserve a large swath of woodland and the area’s tourist economy, officials announced Tuesday.
The land, 21,870 acres in and adjacent to the plantation of Grand Lake Stream, is east of West Grand Lake and northwest of Big Lake. It is the “ last big piece” of a decade-long effort by local and state officials, and by Downeast Lakes Land Trust, to protect more than 350,000 acres of undeveloped woods enveloping the lakes of northern Washington County, according to Mark Berry executive director of the land trust.
The land, owned by Lyme Timber Co. of Hanover, N.H., abuts 33,708 acres already owned by the land trust and includes 17 miles of shoreline on West Grand, Big and Lower Oxbrook lakes. It includes frontage on Big Musquash Stream and conserves a quarter-mile section of the west side of Grand Lake Stream above Big Falls, according to a prepared statement about the completed easement.
“Grand Lake Stream has a rich heritage as a destination for outdoor recreation,” Berry said in the release. “By permanently conserving these lands, and guaranteeing they will always be open to the public for recreation, we’re protecting that heritage and a way of life for future generations.”
Berry said there are 12 camps in the Grand Lake Stream area that cater to tourists who come to enjoy the outdoors. So important is tourism to the area’s economy, he added, that the residents of Grand Lake Stream cast a unanimous vote in 2008 to contribute $40,000 toward completing the easement deal.
Berry said the land trust has a three-year option to buy the land outright from Lyme Timber Co.
The New Hampshire company’s current portfolio includes 475,000 acres in the Northeast, Midwest and South, of which more than 36,000 acres are in Maine. It has consulted on projects that have conserved more than 785,000 acres in Maine and last year, it purchased 3,200 acres next to Acadia National Park on the Schoodic Peninsula.
Gov. Paul LePage said in a prepared statement that the easement at Grand Lake Stream will help protect the state’s natural resources, which he called the “backbone” of Maine’s economy.
“The Grand Lake Stream area has outstanding fisheries, wildlife and scenic resources that make it an attraction for recreationists from around the world while supporting the highest concentration of registered Maine guides in the state,” LePage said. “The historic working forests that have safeguarded these natural assets are now assured for the future.”
Walt Whitcomb, commissioner of the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, added that the easement preserves public access rights to the land.
“These lands support traditional uses, including hunting and fishing, and the easement also guarantees continuation of the primary [all-terrain vehicle] and snowmobile trails that cross the property,” Whitcomb wrote in the release.
The U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Legacy Program selected this project as its top nationwide conservation priority in 2011, according to officials. That same year, it was given a top rating among proposals being considered for funding in the state Land for Maine’s Future program.
The state program, which has conserved more than 445,000 acres in Maine since 1987, could end up facing budget shortfalls for other projects to which it has pledged money, however. The LMF board has said it will provide about $6.95 million to help land trusts and other partners close deals to conserve 20 other parcels statewide, but it only has $4.66 million on hand.
In 2010, voters statewide approved $7 million in bonds to go toward the LMF program, but LePage has said he doesn’t plan to sell the bonds until 2014.
LePage has said he intends to sell the bonds within the required five-year time frame, but he doesn’t plan to issue more until he’s able to rein in state spending.
BDN reporter Matthew Stone contributed to this story. Follow BDN reporter Bill Trotter on Twitter at @billtrotter.
Lots of land being acquired these days………they aren’t making anymore of it.
Buy it while it’s there to be bought, probably one of the greatest investments you can make these days for the long term anyway.
Great news. We need more conservation easements.
Not a fan of LMF, but this time they got it right
These Conservation easements are GREAT. I support them, BUT The State needs to pass a law taking them OFF the host town’s assessment.
Lubec is assessed for 90 miles of shore-land, but almost 50% of that mileage is “exempt” from town taxes,not exempt from The States assessment of the town.
The result is that local citizens must pick up the difference in their own taxes.
The property tax is already the most unfair tax leveled by government. It relies on “possible future sales price” and takes no account of financial status of landholder.
Thanks for noting this point.
Correct! It is a little known point, and it needs to stop. And then when the towns complain, the state slaps them back and tells them to revalue all their properties. Town managers will tell you that Augusta is no friend to localities.
The discrimination against land owners takes no account of either ability or willingness to pay. There is no connection between the value of land or a house and what the taxes are being spent on. About 70% of property taxes go to the failing, monopoly public school system, whether you are using it or not and whether or not you would prefer to educate your children with something better but which you can’t afford on top of the taxes. This is on top of the restrictions of radical preservationism — from acquisitions to scams like the Audubon “bird habitat” restrictions — preventing the normal use of private property and artificially causing shortages of property that people would like to buy and use. Everyone likes scenery; it’s not an excuse to destroy private property rights and wreck the economy with massive preservationism.
Being raised as a child in Grand Lake Stream, I think the towns people are glad for this purchase.
Good job Paul LePage
I agree, he is saving maine..
There will be quite a few less cabins owned by out of statah’s now, good deal….
This out of statah has been going to Grand Lake Stream for 50 years. Everytime we go up to our camp we spend money for gas, food, etc. helping the economy. Plus the sporting camps earn a living from tourist, Mainers & Out of Statah’s. I being a camp owner on Grand Lake are thankful for the preservation effort!
“I have mine, now keep everyone else out.”
It is a beautiful area. Maybe this will keep it that way.
Good news for Mainers and visitors alike. A little brightness in a very dreary week’s news.
More land off the tax roles inn an area that can ill afford the loss of revenue. How much is enough?
This is an easement. No change in the taxes and the land remains in private timberland ownership for now. It’s likely taxed under Tree Growth now and if the land trust does succeed in buying the land later they will likely keep it in Tree Growth and continue to manage it for economic and community benefit. And they will manage it sustainably for the future and not hammer it hard for maximum short-term financial benefit. This is a good thing for a region that needs some good news.
A wonderful accomplishment in a region that is a unique asset to the entire state. The focus often comes across as conserving the “land” and fails to realize that the watershed, the multitude of conjoined wilderness lakes is the true gem that is secured by the surrounding land. Unfortunately, industrial wind turbines of nearly 500 feet in height, already denied a permit by LURC, is again being proposed at the headwaters of this unique watershed. Let’s hope that the DEP also comes to the aid of preserving this region.
The Government, either State or local, owns all the land. After all, you can’t do anything with it or on it without the Government’s approval. Don’t pay the property tax and see for yourself who owns “your” land.
Gee, I can’t wait to see all the campsites opened on this public owned land!!!!! After all, Grand Lake Stream has made it illegal to camp in the town to protect its lodge owners. This sweetheart deal made the area inaccessible, expensive, or very inconvenient for most Mainers. Otherwise, the acquisition of this easement, at public expense, is just a rip off.
I agree it is a good thing to make this land open to the public. However when the Land Trust purchased the Farm Cove package, it was not stated that there were several blocks that are PRIVATELY owned, — NOT owned by the DownEast Land Trust. It happened to us when we discovered someone in our camp (on private land) last year – they thought that since the Land Trust owned the land they could use the existing camps – WOW – what a surprise for them!! They had NO CLUE that our place did not belong to the Trust!! We pay our taxes to the State too!!