Forest Society of Maine

Your land trust for Maine's North Woods.
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Maine’s North Woods is a bird sanctuary. Let’s keep it that way.

May 7, 2024 By Annie

A new study makes it clear that our state’s undeveloped, unfragmented forests should not be lost.

By Karin R. Tilberg, Forest Society of Maine President/CEO. Published in the Portland Press Herald.

This time of year, I wake up and almost immediately begin identifying bird songs. When traveling, I listen to bird song tapes. I keep binoculars nearby.

Spring and songbirds go together and bring enjoyment and awe to many across Maine. What may not be well known is that a large portion of Maine’s North Woods has been deemed an “Important Bird Area” of global significance (Northern Forest Block) for migratory songbirds by National Audubon. The vast undeveloped interior forests are critical as habitat for birds.

Dr. John Hagan led a team of researchers in a recent replica of an extensive study of birds and forestry conducted 30 years ago, published last month. The research was prompted by the deeply troubling fact that North American breeding bird populations have declined by an estimated three billion individuals, or almost 30%, since 1970.

Habitat loss and degradation are considered the primary drivers of declines.

Maine’s commercial forest landscape is the largest contiguous tract of intact (non-developed) forest east of the Mississippi and forms the heart of the largest globally significant Important Bird Area in the lower 48 states. Species such as the Red-eyed Vireo, White-throated Sparrow, Golden -crowned Kinglet, Black-throated Green Warbler, and many others depend on this area for part of their lives. Hagan and his team asked, “What role does this ten-million-acre area play in regional and national scale bird conservation today?”

They wondered how changing ownership and harvesting patterns over the past 30 years may have affected bird populations – positively or negatively? Given the alarming backdrop of national declines in many forest birds, the researchers were surprised to find that 33 (70%) of the 47 species studied showed increases in abundance in the last 30 years. There was also an increase in the number of birds in each research plot from the 1990’s to 2020’s – a 37% increase.

This increase in bird density is the main story to emerge from replication of the 1990s study.

In fact, Dr. Hagan summarizes that the North Woods are serving as a “bird sanctuary” for the nation, supporting National Audubon’s IBA designation.

More research is needed to understand all the forces at work, and some species showed declines in population, but an essential underlying message of the work is that Maine’s undeveloped, unfragmented forests should not be lost.

The Forest Society of Maine, along with many other organizations, is working with willing forest landowners to ensure just that. FSM negotiates and then holds conservation easements in perpetuity that prevent development and fragmentation of large tracts of forest – now one million acres and counting.

In fact, 91% of FSM’s easement acreage lies within the National Audubon Important Bird Area, and state and other NGO conservation lands add to the conservation effort in this IBA.

There are so many benefits that flow from Maine’s uniquely intact forested landscape – work opportunities, locally sourced wood products, carbon sequestration and storage, outdoor recreation, clean water, and fish and wildlife habitats. Let’s celebrate the good news that Maine’s forests are providing habitat for millions of songbirds as they herald spring and renewed life. This new study is proof that our land conservation efforts are working.

Filed Under: Blog

A Bird’s-Eye View of Conservation

July 12, 2022 By Annie

We asked FSM’s 2022 Swan Intern, Eli Forman, to tell us about his first experience conducting aerial monitoring and his experience so far with conservation in the North Woods as the FSM intern. Here’s what Eli had to say:

I didn’t expect to be nervous, but as we pulled into the tiny Newton airfield in Jackman and coasted past a couple idle Cessnas I began to feel a slight twinge in my stomach. The thought that I was about to step into one of those tiny, toy-like planes and hurtle around a remote corner of the western Maine border region recalled my boyhood fascination with survival stories like Gary Paulson’s Hatchet. I’d often imagined myself in the protagonist’s place, crash-landed by a remote wilderness lake with only the titular tool between me and the elements. But now, stepping out of the car and squinting into the glaring morning sun at the open hatch of a 1978 Cessna 172, that story, so thrilling in my cozy childhood imaginings, suddenly seemed way too close to home.

Reassuringly, Erica Dubois, the Forest Society of Maine’s (FSM) senior forestland steward who brought me on this trip, seemed completely unfazed. This was routine for her and the other stewardship staff, who aerially monitor the over 1 million acres FSM holds conservation easements on at least once a year. As the summer 2022 Swan intern, I was fortunate enough to be invited along for the ride. Despite having flown all over the world, I’d never been in a plane that didn’t have an illuminated seatbelt sign, or where I could reach over and tap the pilot on the shoulder.

The scale of what we planned to fly over was immense. In about an hour of flying we’d observe roughly 59,000 acres of FSM-held easements and a couple parcels of fee lands near Attean Pond. From the ground I had trouble wrapping my head around such an expanse, and as Erica and our remarkably mild-mannered pilot, Jim, chatted on the tarmac, I steeled myself for the ride ahead.

After a couple minutes of introductions, we trundled into the plane and put on our voice activated headsets. The plane started up with a smooth rumble and I could suddenly feel the anticipatory lift of the whirling propeller as it swept air under the wings. Jim taxied out to the small runway and with a short notice over the radio, gunned it down the strip. At once we were soaring out over Attean Pond and climbing up and over Sally Mountain as the houses of Jackman shrank like toys below. All trace of my initial anxiety vanished as we levelled out around 4,000 feet. In its place arose total exhilaration and awe at the emerald tapestry flecked with blue unfurled below. The brilliance of the scene made it look constructed, like a diorama in a museum or a meticulously curated model train landscape. The morning air was perfectly clear, and the whole western portion of Maine and southern Quebec seemed to unveil itself before us.

As we angled and swooped around this seemingly vast, unbounded wilderness, I realized that the verdure stretching in all directions was in fact a mosaic of working forestlands. Evidence of forest management dotted the landscape. Roads snaked around harvest blocks with log landings notched out at intervals, patches of clear-cuts sprouted new growth next to partial harvests and dark rectangles of spruce and fir plantations crept up hillsides. There were also large tracts of unharvested lands, which Erica pointed out were being managed as ecological reserves. I watched as sinewy watercourses and remote ponds glittered in the sun, steep ridges swept by, bristling with spruce and fir Krummholz and the thin, angular line of the US-Canada border arbitrarily bisected mountains. The sheer forested continuity of this diverse landscape was astounding to see from the air, and impossible to fully grasp from the ground.

Staring enthralled out the window I finally began to visually understand what people mean when they refer to “The North Woods.” The Maine North Woods are the largest unfragmented swath of forestland left  east of the Mississippi. The many resources they provide, such as forest products, recreation, ecological diversity, and cultural activities, sustain many rural communities and foster a unique sense of place that is becoming increasingly rare in our fast-paced society. It’s also ever more apparent how essential these forests are in helping mitigate climate change. Rationally I understood these aspects, and believed in conserving them, which is what led me to work with FSM in the first place, but I was completely unprepared for the emotional weight that fully witnessing this landscape imbued them with.

After what felt like much too short a time, Jim nosed the plane back in the direction of Jackman. We’d covered the Attean, Boundary Headwaters and Number 5 and 6 mountain easements and Erica hadn’t noticed anything concerning. We’d be making field monitoring visits to most of them over the summer, and now that I had their landscape-scale context impressed on my mind I was especially excited to explore them on the ground. We floated back over the houses of Jackman, banked once over the runway and drifted down to a gentle landing. I emerged from the plane a little dazed, both from the wobbly ride and the simple elation of the scene I had just witnessed. That elation stayed with me all throughout our long drive back to Bangor and, as far as I can tell, will remain throughout the rest of this summer’s stewardship work and beyond.

Filed Under: Blog, Uncategorized

From the President/CEO Spring 2021

July 22, 2021 By Karin Tilberg

After graduating from the University of Maine School of Law in 1984, I landed a dream job working with one of Maine’s great conservation leaders, Clinton B. “Bill” Townsend, at his law firm in Skowhegan, Maine. I went to law school with the intention of pursuing land use and conservation law but it was Bill who helped show me how to apply what I’d learned. It was hard work since there was little conservation funding and tools like conservation easements were relatively new. At the time, about 5% of Maine was conserved through public ownership– state, federal, or local–and some modest ownerships by conservation entities. Today, nearly 40 years later, about 21% of Maine is in some form of conservation status. A great deal of that increase is the result of the use of conservation easements. They have become a trusted and enduring conservation device and they are the primary tool for the Forest Society of Maine, which now holds or helps monitor one million acres of conservation easements in Maine.

The December 2020 Maine Won’t Wait Report of the Maine Climate Action Council convened by Governor Janet Mills set a goal of bringing the total of conserved lands in the state to 30% by 2030. The report notes that protecting natural and working lands is critical to maximize carbon storage, support working forests, ensure valuable ecosystems remain in place for future generations, and contribute to Maine’s fight against the effects of climate change. In recommending the 30% conservation goal, the report emphasizes that conserving forests through working forest conservation easements is one of the more cost-effective strategies to help reach carbon neutrality. FSM is perfectly positioned to help achieve this important goal. With your continued support, we can make the next decade another one of forest conservation success!
— Karin Tilberg

 

Originally published in Forest View, Spring 2021

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Carbon, Climate, From the President/CEO

Fish River Lakes Conservation Easement Completed

June 18, 2021 By Annie

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.)

Filed Under: Blog, Featured, News Tagged With: Fish River

Trails Run Through It

May 24, 2021 By Karin Tilberg

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.

Filed Under: Blog, Featured

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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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