Acres: 21,000
Year Conserved: 2000
About the Property: In 1997 FSM began working with Robbins Lumber Company to conserve a township that the company had recently acquired with plans to manage it for forest products. As fourth generation owners of a sawmill and thousands of acres of Maine’s forestlands, the Robbins family placed a high value on productive working forests and the wildlife habitat they provide. According to Jim Robbins, “When we first bought the Nicatous land we believed we’d be forced to sell the shoreline for development. But one day we got out on the lake in a boat. Just ahead of us three bald eagles were sitting in a tree and we could hear loons calling. I said to my brother, ‘We have to find another way.’” Through a combination of a working forest easement and the state acquisition of key shoreline areas, the ecological, recreational, and economic values of 21,000 acres surrounding Nicatous Lake in eastern Maine are now protected in perpetuity.
Recreational Opportunities: Boating, paddling, fishing, wildlife viewing, and camping.
Project Partners: Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands
