Forest Society of Maine

Your land trust for Maine's North Woods.
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Fish River Lakes Conservation Easement Completed

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PRESS RELEASE:

The Forest Society of Maine announced the completion of a forest conservation easement on lands owned by Irving Woodlands in the Fish River Chain of Lakes region in Aroostook County, Maine. This permanent easement, encompassing some 16,900 acres, is strategically located to provide natural resource protections for the lands around Mud Lake, Cross Lake, and Square Lake—known to many as the Fish River Chain of Lakes. Going forward the Forest Society of Maine has the responsibility of stewarding the permanent working forest conservation easement.

“These lands support many conservation values including diverse plant and wildlife habitats, including streams that are home to brook trout, rainbow smelt, and landlocked salmon,” stated Karin Tilberg, Forest Society of Maine President/CEO. “We are tremendously pleased to have worked with the Irving team and through the Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) process to develop a meaningful conservation easement for these lands.”

The conservation easement ensures the forests won’t be developed or converted to other uses not compatible with sustainably managed forests. It protects the majority of the shoreline around Square Lake and Carry Pond and the streams that feed them and requires that all forestry activities are implemented as part of a forest management plan. The easement also creates a permanent right of pedestrian public access on the lands for low intensity outdoor recreation.

The Fish River Conservation Easement was developed during a public process connected with the Lake Concept Plan developed by Irving Woodlands and approved in late 2019 by LUPC. “We are pleased to announce the signing of our Conservation Easement with the Forest Society of Maine as a component of the Fish River Chain of Lakes Concept Plan,” said Anthony Hourihan, Director Land Development of Irving Woodlands, “Responsible, well-planned development will provide new recreational and economic opportunities in Aroostook County while ensuring important conservation values are maintained for the long term. The Forest Society of Maine has been a great partner through this process by balancing the need for conservation with the need to maintain working forest which supports a critical industry in the County.”

A map showing conserved areas around Fish River Chain of Lakes.
(The light green areas indicate the land within the Fish River conservation easement.)

Trails Run Through It

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Snow-crusted trees and endless mountains are visible from the summit of Old Speck in Maine's western mountains.
Maine’s western mountains from the summit of Old Speck. Photo by Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust.

On a January morning the thermometer on my car read -12°F on what was the coldest day of the winter, so far. I was driving to meet conservation colleagues to climb Old Speck, following the Appalachian Trail (AT) to its summit. This section of the AT borders the Grafton Forest parcel that the Forest Society of Maine is seeking to conserve. When we headed up the trail, it had warmed to 6°F and the bright sun and brilliant snow dazzled us as we snowshoed 7.6 steep miles, round trip.

The Forest Society of Maine (FSM) is leading the effort to conserve approximately 21,300 acres of forestland that comprise the Grafton Forest project, and is joined by two partners, the Northeast Wilderness Trust (NEWT) and the Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust (MATLT). FSM will be placing a working forestland conservation easement on the majority of the forestland. NEWT will take ownership of the higher elevation land and place a Forever Wild Easement on land that will be held by MATLT.

Grafton Forest is uniquely important to those who hike, maintain, and help provide rescue services for those on the AT. Two AT side trails, the Speck Pond Trail and the Notch Trail, cross the Grafton Forest project lands to connect with the bordering AT. The project will ensure these side trails and access to them will remain into the future. Dogsled, ski, ATV, and snowmobile trails also thread the property and are important to local residents.

Two people snowshoe uphill through snow-covered trees.
Snowshoeing to Old Speck. Photo by Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust.

At the summit of Old Speck, we looked out over the Grafton Forest lands, stretching out to the west to form a magnificent viewshed for the AT. From the fire tower, there are 360-degree views of the snow bedecked mountains, lakes, and forests. Not only stunningly beautiful, the project area is also highly rated for terrestrial climate resilience by The Nature Conservancy and will form a bulwark against development pressure from the nearby Sunday River Ski Resort.

Gazing at the snow-covered mountain landscape I felt my spirits soar knowing of the strong partnerships with the landowner, many conservation and recreation organizations, and donors who are working with FSM to safeguard this special place. Conserving this area is vital for responding to climate change, maintaining working forests and wildlife habitats, and for the future enjoyment of all who are inspired by the vantage across Grafton Forest.

–Karin Tilberg
Article originally published in the 2021 spring edition of Forest View, FSM’s biannual newsletter.

FSM OpEd in Bangor Daily News

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Opportunity in Front of Us

There is much discussion in Maine about how best to mitigate climate change. The December 2020 “Maine Won’t Wait” report of the Maine Climate Council sets forth a broad and well-researched set of actions to do so. One of them is simple and relatively inexpensive:  keep Maine’s forests as forests. This opportunity is right in front of us, but is often relegated to the back burner. This action should be prioritized, and quickly.

Here are some facts. At approximately 89% forested, Maine is the most forested state in the United States. These forests are also the most unfragmented forests east of the Mississippi River and are a tremendous economic engine providing wood products, employment, and outdoor recreation. They provide habitat for a diverse array of species including moose, Canada lynx, and Eastern brook trout, and are globally significant for migratory songbirds. However, a little-known fact is that the managed forests in Maine absorb or sequester more than 60% of the human-made greenhouse gases generated in the state every year. This underscores the importance of concentrating efforts on retaining Maine’s forests so they can continue to sequester carbon as well as provide opportunities for the forest products industry and outdoor recreation.

Specifically, “Maine Won’t Wait” states that conserving forests through conservation easements is one of the more cost-effective strategies to help reach carbon neutrality by maintaining forest cover. Voluntary purchases of working forest easements and lands will support robust forest products economies, increase carbon storage opportunities, conserve biodiversity, and enhance climate adaptation and resilience for wildlife, people, and communities. The Forest Society of Maine, along with other land trusts, is working with landowners who wish to retain ownership of forestland but want to prevent the land from being developed and from having public access restricted.

As a land trust, the Forest Society of Maine acquires permanent conservation easements on forestlands to ensure they are not converted to other uses such as housing, commercial, or utility infrastructure development. This is the type of action that can keep Maine’s forests intact, but it takes funding to do so. A land bond for the Land for Maine’s Future Program would replenish this program and enable opportunities for forestland conservation that keeps land on the tax rolls and accessible to the public. Maintaining forestland will not happen on its own–the demand for second homes, often at the edges of woodlands, has been accelerated by the pandemic and the resulting desire to be in rural areas. For the first time in a long time, forestland acreage in Maine is starting to shrink.

Supporting programs like the Land for Maine’s Future Program that fund conservation easements will help ensure that forests continue to sequester carbon, support jobs, safeguard habitat for wildlife, and  provide public access to the land. Let’s act on this opportunity in front of us.

Karin R. Tilberg, President/CEO Forest Society of Maine

https://bangordailynews.com/2021/05/13/opinion/contributors/an-lmf-bond-will-support-jobs-wildlife-and-public-access-to-maine-land/

Arbor Day 2021

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Happy Arbor Day!

Maine’s lucky because our state is 89% forested! These millions of acres of forests provide wildlife habitat, natural climate solutions, jobs, and a place to enjoy the outdoors. FSM plays a role in keeping these forests available and accessible for all the values they provide.

Do you care about forests? Why not celebrate Arbor Day by making a gift to FSM?

Still Here

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View of Mount Kineo and other conserved forestlands along Moosehead Lake.
View of Mount Kineo and other conserved forestlands along Moosehead Lake.

By Bonnie Newsom

This story was originally published in FSM’s 2015 publication, Reflections.

The Maine woods—the words inspire different feelings for different people. As a Penobscot person and someone who has devoted my career to understanding the deep antiquity of human occupation of Maine, I cannot help but feel grateful for the good stewardship of my ancestors, for without their understanding of and respect for the natural world, the Maine woods would not exist today.

I spend a lot of time in the Maine woods. My work as an archaeologist has taken me from the shores of Chesuncook Lake to Mt. Kineo to Millinocket and Alder Stream. I feel very fortunate for the opportunity to enjoy the gifts of Maine’s forested landscape through my work. However, I am most appreciative of time spent in the woods when I have no other role other than being. It is during those times that I am blessed with an intimate connection to my ancestors and all other life forms that surround me.

Gandhi advises us to “speak only when it improves upon the silence.”  Anyone who has spent any time deep in the Maine woods can attest to fact that the forests are far from silent. However, I have found that my own silence while in the woods enables me to connect with my ancestors through a shared sensory experience that surpasses time. In essence, some things never change. Today, I can experience many of the same smells, sounds, textures and sights that my ancestors have experienced over millennia. The creaking of tall trees swaying in the wind, the crisp smell of a cedar tree, the slipperiness of the rocks along the shore, even the twinge of embarrassment that accompanies tripping over a root along a well-worn path—these sensations are timeless and unchanging, and will remain so as long as forests exist.

My time in the woods affords me the opportunity to experience a bit of my ancestors world. So much has changed for us—language, housing, transportation, food. But when I’m in the woods, away from busy streets, modern conveniences and excessive materiality, I am attuned to the visceral relationship that Penobscots have with the lands and waters. It is during those quiet reflective times I’m reminded that the forested landscape is a part of us and we a part of it. We have evolved together and share a deep common history. Together we have experienced the effects of colonization and together we struggle to heal from it.

I often wonder what my ancestors would think of our world today. I suspect they would be overwhelmed because much of their homeland would be unfamiliar. However, I believe they would take comfort in knowing that some things haven’t changed. Penobscot people are still here. We are still humbled by the beauty of Katahdin on the horizon, pine pitch is still sticky, and beavers still slap their tails on the waters of northern Maine.

 

Bonnie Newsom is a member of the Penobscot Nation and President of Nutalket Consulting–a Native American owned and operated small business that blends heritage preservation consulting with Native American art and jewelry design. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Maine, Orono, and a member of FSM’s board of directors.

Forest Society of Maine

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

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