Maine

The big conservation issues of our day require collaborations designed for unique systemic challenges, connecting people to the land and natural resources on which they rely. What natural resource do we rely on more than anything? Clean drinking water. This is the story of how Sebago Clean Waters, a watershed at risk, the people and organizations that came together to protect it, and the ways in which they are slowly but surely gaining support from both downstream and watershed communities to bring a holistic approach to fruition.

Monhegan Associates Inc. was founded in 1954 “to preserve for posterity the natural wild beauty, biotic communities, and desirable natural, artificial, and historic features of the so-called ‘wild-lands’ portion of Monhegan Island, Maine.” The Wildlands comprise about 375 acres, slightly more than half of the island and the approach to land management is strictly minimalist, though challenges include a post-agricultural history of invasive plants and the impacts of tourists to this popular destination for art, history, and scenic beauty. Photo copyright David R. Foster.

The diversity of public and private entities advancing Wildland conservation is exemplified by this northern landscape, embracing Baxter State Park (State of Maine), Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument (National Park Service), Debsconeag Lakes Wilderness Area (The Nature Conservancy), and Nahmakanta Ecological Reserve (State of Maine). Southward it extends along the Appalachian Trail to the Roach Ponds, Katahdin Iron Works, Baker Mountain and Silver Lakes Reserves owned by the Maine Woods Initiative LLC of the Appalachian Mountain Club. Photo copyright by David R. Foster.

Alder Stream Wilderness Preserve, a 7,292-acre property owned by Northeast Wilderness Trust, is protected with a forever-wild conservation easement held by Forest Society of Maine. The Preserve lies within one of the largest, most varied and intact freshwater wetland systems in Maine, supporting nearly 400 species of plants and at least 199 animal species and uncounted species of invertebrates. The Preserve abuts a 6,500-acre private tract, protected with a forever-wild easement by Sweet Water Trust and transferred to Northeast Wilderness Trust in 2021. Photo copyright Jerry Monkman / Ecophotgraphy.

Building on the theme of natural climate solutions, this session will highlight several ways how conserving natural forest systems for climate mitigation also provides economic benefits to communities and the region. This presentation covers the community forest movement.