Little W Shoreline
In October 2011, the Maine Department of Conservation's Bureau of Parks and Lands (BPL), in partnership with FSM, submitted Forest Legacy and Land for Maine's Future Water Access grant applications towards the state's acquisition of Little W Shoreline. If the state is successful in acquiring the shoreline in fee, the landowning family will also donate a nearby two-acre island - Little W Island - to the state for permanent conservation.
The Little W Shoreline project encompasses 81 acres of forestland and two miles of waterfront on the north shore of Moosehead Lake. The property borders the state-owned and managed Seboomook Unit, a 51,450-acre parcel of public reserve lands. The state had hoped to acquire the Little W waterfront parcel as part of the Seboomook Unit, in 2003, but was not able to at that time. With generational changes within the landowning family at hand, the land is to be sold, and the state has a window of opportunity to acquire this key inholding. Acquisition of Little W Shoreline will avert development, ensure the integrity of existing conservation lands, and provide new public access points on Moosehead Lake.
If acquired, the shoreline and island parcels will be managed as part of BPL’s Seboomook Unit and will be integrated into the overall management of the Unit and the other boat access, picnic, and water access campsites on Moosehead Lake. Acquisition of Little W Shoreline will support paddlers who are out for a few hours, a few days, or who are traversing the 740-mile Northern Forest Canoe Trail by addressing the need for more water access campsites on the lake's northern shore. The shoreline also has an exceptional number of protected coves, peninsulas, and islands that can provide a safe winter haven for persons skiing, snowshoeing, ice fishing, and snowmobiling on the north end of Maine's largest lake.
View an aerial map of the Little W project
