Forest Society of Maine

Your land trust for Maine's North Woods.
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Fiction of the Maine Woods

January 10, 2020 By Erica

Although some very famous works of fiction may be set on the Maine coast (à la, Murder She Wrote), numerous novels and stories have also been written about and inspired by the history, communities, and remote landscape of interior Maine.

A writer sits at the base of Goodell Brook Falls.
A nature writer sits at the base of Goodell Brook Falls not far from the town of Monson, ME. Photo by Kimberly Ridley.

One such classic is Arundel, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and Maine author Kenneth Roberts. First published in 1930, Arundel is a fictionalized account of General Benedict Arnold’s arduous—and ultimately failed—campaign to wrest Québec City from the British in January 1776. Another Maine writer, Carolyn Chute, has spent decades examining poverty and small town living in books like The Beans of Egypt, Maine.

There’s just something about our state that screams “mystery,” because a huge number of books set here are crime novels, mysteries, and thrillers. Paul Doiron has received a lot of attention and awards for his series following fictional game warden, Mike Bowditch. Famed British thriller writer Lee Child even placed one of his Jack Reacher novels in Abbott.

Maine’s woods are unique in the Northeast for their vastness and opportunities for solitude, qualities that are vanishing from many of our busy lives. Quiet and solitude can be essential for enjoying a good book—and for writing one.  If you are a writer hoping to find inspiration in the Maine woods, we recommend you check out Monson Arts, a program of the Libra Foundation, which offers a paid residency program in the greater Moosehead Lake region. Readers looking for books and stories set in Maine can check out this online resource. For an index of Maine-based authors, visit the Maine State Library online.

 

Filed Under: Blog

Nordic skiers welcome at Nickerson Tree Farm

December 30, 2019 By Annie

By Erica Cassidy Dubois, FSM Forestland Steward
Printed in the Piscataquis Observer and Moosehead Matters

Groomed ski trails at Nickerson Tree Farm in Greenville (if you’re not skiing, please don’t crush the tracks!)

 

The Forest Society of Maine welcomes Nordic skiers of all ages and abilities to enjoy the trails, this winter, at Nickerson Tree Farm in Greenville. Located behind the Moosehead Lake Region Visitors’ Center—just a few miles south of town—the tree farm offers a 2.3-mile network of looping routes that will be groomed throughout winter, as conditions allow.

Anyone who has skied at Nickerson will tell you, it’s not just for beginners! The trails have hills, curves, and other features that make it fun and satisfying for skiers of almost every level.

If you make a visit to the Nickerson Tree Farm, please remember that maintaining good, groomed trails is a lot of work! Winter grooming and track-laying is made possible by NREC-Moosehead and their exceptional network of volunteers. Please respect that many hours and a lot of energy goes into making these trails excellent for everyone. Do not walk or snowshoe on groomed tracks—one person (or dog) will quickly destroy the trail surface for skiing. Bottom line: if you aren’t wearing five-foot sticks on your feet, please travel beside the tracks, or off-trail. Fat biking is not permitted.

The 80-acre Nickerson Tree Farm property was donated to the Forest Society of Maine in 2018 thanks to the generosity of Ellen Nickerson Poole. Mrs. Poole is the daughter of the late Dr. Norman Nickerson, who started his decades-long career as a physician in the Moosehead Lake region in 1920. For many years, Mrs. Poole invited the public to enjoy her property via the skiing trails that loop through the woodlot. Forest Society of Maine is proud to carry on this tradition.

A map of the Nickerson Tree Farm trails is available online, at Maine Trail Finder. You can also find out more about the tree farm and the Forest Society of Maine’s land conservation work at www.fsmaine.org.

Filed Under: Blog, News Tagged With: Moosehead Region, Nickerson Tree Farm

From the E.D.

December 18, 2019 By Karin Tilberg

Maine’s forests are outstanding in so many respects – the economic opportunities they provide in the wood products and outdoor recreation sectors, the foundation for healthy fish and wildlife habitat and clean water, the cultural and historic values they hold, and their ability to refresh our lives with beauty and a sense of grandeur.

Maine’s forests are storing vast amounts of carbon.

Maine’s forests also store, or sequester, carbon and lots of it. Why should we care that Maine’s forests store large amounts of carbon? Carbon sequestration in forests helps to offset increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere such as occurs from forest conversion to other land uses, forest fires, and from other sources of human activity such as fossil fuel combustion. Trees and plants take up CO2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and store it as carbon in their trunks, branches, foliage, and roots. Utilizing wood for construction and other durable materials also represents an enormous contribution to carbon storage.

Maine is known as the most heavily forested state in the United States with approximately 17.5 million acres of forestland. The trees in Maine’s forests store hundreds of millions of metric tons of carbon in just the portions of the trees that are above ground. Much more carbon is stored in the stumps and roots.  And lots more carbon is stored in the forest soil. To understand the significance of these numbers, it is currently estimated that 50% or more of Maine’s total CO2 emissions are being stored by Maine’s forests each year.

The Forest Society of Maine is proud to work with forest landowners, conservation partners and, with your help, to implement permanent conservation solutions that keep Maine’s forests as forests–storing carbon in the trees, soils, and wood products far into the future.

-Karin Tilberg

 

Published in FSM’s biannual newsletter, Forest View, fall 2019 edition.

Filed Under: Blog, Featured

Renewing LTA Accreditation

October 4, 2019 By Annie

FSM is currently renewing its Land Trust Alliance (LTA) accreditation. The Forest Society of Maine became a nationally accredited land trust in 2009 and attained accreditation renewal in 2014. Accreditation must be renewed every five years. Read more about accreditation.

There is an opportunity for the public to make comments and we invite you to participate. Learn more about the accreditation program or submit comments online or by email to info@landtrustaccreditation.org. Comments on FSM’s application will be most useful prior to our submittal date of November 14, 2019.

 

Accreditation Impact by the Numbers

 

Filed Under: Blog, News

Moosehead Region Update

October 1, 2019 By Annie

Recently a request was submitted to the Maine Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) by Weyerhaeuser, a forestland owner in the Moosehead area, to dissolve the terms of the Moosehead Lake Region Concept Plan. The Concept Plan, which was approved by LUPC’s predecessor agency in 2009, re-zoned approximately 17,000 acres around Moosehead Lake for commercial, industrial, residential, and resort development. To date, no development has occurred.

As a result of the Concept Plan a working forest conservation easement was placed on more than 360,000 acres around Moosehead Lake. The Moosehead Region Conservation Easement (MRCE), finalized in 2009, permanently restricts development, sets standards for forest management and other uses of the land, and provides for permanent recreational opportunities. While the MRCE grew out of the Moosehead Lake Region Concept Plan process, any termination or modification of the Moosehead Lake Region Concept Plan does not impact or change the terms of the Conservation Easement.

In addition to the easement, the Plan helped add to and improve the region’s motorized and non-motorized trail systems. For example, public access was granted to more than 80 miles of snowmobile trails, and several hiking trails were built or updated. Like the easement, these positive impacts are permanent.  LUPC has indicated its interest in involving the community in planning for the future of areas proposed to be rezoned.  The Forest Society of Maine, with strong ties to the Moosehead region, will continue its partnership with the people of nearby communities as they assess the appropriate development and conservation opportunities into the future.

Map from Weyerhaeuser of the Moosehead Lake Concept Plan

Filed Under: Blog, Uncategorized

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Registered Maine Guide Talks Brook Trout

Mark your calendars! On October 29th, FSM will be partnering with Bangor Public Library to host a talk on … [Read More...]

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  • Registered Maine Guide Talks Brook Trout
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Forest Society of Maine

209 State St, 2nd Floor
Bangor, Maine 04401
(207) 945-9200
info@fsmaine.org

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