Campaign Background

Maine’s forests are the largest remaining tracts of undeveloped land in the eastern U.S., but, after more than a century of stable ownership and use, change is occurring at an unprecedented rate––threatening the rural economy and traditional public access enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people each year.

The fabled West Branch region along the Penobscot River lies at the heart of Maine’s North Woods. Situated just north of Moosehead Lake, along the headwaters of the St. John River, it has been a magnet for adventurers since Henry David Thoreau first made his pilgrimage to the area in 1846.

The West Branch project was the most openly negotiated conservation project ever developed in Maine. This transparency was by design, with the intention of utilizing the project as a means to advance public opinion, public policy, and public funding to benefit long-term and large-scale Northern Forest conservation. Success has been achieved on all fronts. The public discourse stimulated by the West Branch project has helped forge consensus on public policy and resulted in a groundbreaking project that has earned the enthusiastic endorsement of a broad list of North Woods stakeholders. The West Branch project has helped redefine the standards for comprehensive easements--that maintain the land's working forest heritage through sustainable forestry provisions, preserve the land's ecological integrity and wildlife habitats, and protect Maine's heritage of public access for traditional recreational activities.

The Forest Society of Maine (FSM) has now completed a capital campaign that raised the $35 million needed to conserve and manage this 329,000-acre parcel of forestland in the West Branch region, which is the largest contiguous tract of land ever brought under conservation in Maine. Under the agreement FSM has purchased conservation and access easements on 282,000 acres. The West Branch easement allows the property owner to retain ownership and sustainably manage the forests, allows FSM to protect the land through the purchase of development and recreational access rights. This approach has been described as providing 80% of the protections afforded by full fee purchase at 20% of the cost.

The Maine Department of Conservation had purchased the remaining 47,000 acres of land. The land chosen for acquisition contains ecological and recreational values of exceptional importance. A comprehensive land use planning process that involves the public is being initiated to guide the management of the acquisition lands. The multiple values and potential uses of the property will be considered and a management plan will be developed that protects and utilizes this precious public resource.