Press Room

This page provides current and archived news stories along with accompanying photos and maps for members of the news media to download and publish. It also offers background information on Coastal Mountains Land Trust. If you have any questions or would like further information, please contact us.

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News Stories 2012

Five Parties Cooperate to Conserve Ragged Mountain Land (1/12/12)

Land Conservation Shows Big Gains Despite Recession (11/22/11)

ARCHIVED NEWS STORIES (2008-2011)

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FIVE PARTIES COOPERATE TO CONSERVE RAGGED MOUNTAIN LAND

(ROCKPORT/HOPE)--The Maine Water Company has completed the purchase of 167 acres on Ragged Mountain, part of its ongoing effort to own and manage the watershed of the public water supply for its six-town Mirror Lake water system serving the towns of Camden, Rockport, Rockland, Thomaston, Owls Head and Warren. This is the result of a strong cooperative effort between the water company, former owners of the land, two land trusts, and the Camden Snow Bowl.

Coastal Mountains Land Trust led the process by working with John and Rhonda Hart to conserve 203 acres of land they have owned on Ragged Mountain since 1989. Their discussions were driven by the Land Trust's nine-year campaign to conserve 3,500 acres of land on Ragged Mountain and Bald Mountain. The Harts' property, centered on the western side of Ragged Mountain, reaches from its base to the summit ridgeline. It features diverse wildlife habitats, bold cliffs and ledges, spectacular views extending to the White Mountains, and part of the Mirror Lake watershed. And, it will become a key link for fulfilling the Land Trust's vision for the Round the Mountain Trail, an outdoor recreation opportunity for hikers, cross-country skiers, and mountain bikers.

The Harts' land will be the largest single acquisition for the Bald and Ragged Mountains Campaign to date, bringing land conserved on the mountains to 49% of the Land Trust's goal.
As Galen Todd, President of the Coastal Mountains Land Trust Board of Directors, said, "Conservation of the Hart property will have direct, positive environmental and economic impact, helping to preserve our quality of place and greatly enhancing recreational opportunities for all of us to enjoy."

View of Ragged Mountain's western slope, including the Hart property

The Land Trust agreed to purchase 203 acres of the Harts' land as four separate, abutting parcels over two years, with the first two parcels purchased by August, 2011. The Land Trust and Aqua Maine (recently acquired by Connecticut Water Service, Inc. and renamed The Maine Water Company) began working on a way for the water company to participate in the Hart transactions. The water company, as part of their management of the Mirror Lake watershed, already owned 700 acres on the north and south sides of the Hart's property.
As a result of this new layer of cooperation, the Land Trust is selling the Hart parcels to the water company with each parcel placed under a perpetual conservation easement held by the Land Trust. The conservation easement will achieve all of the original conservation goals the Land Trust had for acquiring the Hart parcels, and furthers the water company's objective to protect the quality of its water sources. Three of the former Hart parcels are now owned by The Maine Water Company and are permanently protected by the conservation easement held by Coastal Mountains Land Trust. The fourth parcel will be purchased from the Harts in late 2012.

"We are pleased that we could participate in these transactions, supporting the goals of the Harts and the Land Trust, while at the same time purchasing additional watershed of our critical water sources," stated Judy Wallingford, President of The Maine Water Company. "This partnership is consistent with our goals of long term protection of these pristine water supplies and preservation of the natural beauty and character of this land for the communities to enjoy."

"We believe the future for our Ragged Mountain property is in good hands," said John and Rhonda Hart. "The addition of The Maine Water Company to this partnership is such a huge benefit to all that love this land."

Conservation of the Hart property is also a key step toward securing permanent public access to multipurpose recreational trails on Ragged Mountain. At its ridgeline, the property hosts the highest section of the Georges Highland Path, a hiking trail established and managed by the Georges River Land Trust. Both land trusts--Georges River and Coastal Mountains--have worked cooperatively for several years on public access trails on both Ragged and Bald Mountains. The conservation easement that Coastal Mountains Land Trust will hold on the former Hart property will ensure that the Georges Highland Path will forever traverse the upper elevations of the property.

Even though it is located on the east side of Ragged Mountain, the Camden Snow Bowl will eventually benefit from the Round the Mountain Trail that will cross the former Hart property. This vision for a ten-mile trail that circumnavigates Ragged Mountain is a key element in the Snow Bowl's plans to enhance its four-season outdoor recreation offerings. The Snow Bowl and Coastal Mountains Land Trust have already cooperated to build and open the first sections of the Round the Mountain Trail, 3.3 miles that begin at the Snow Bowl. As the Land Trust adds new conservation acquisitions through its campaign, the Round the Mountain Trail will be extended and ultimately fulfill this ambitious vision.

"Much as I appreciate simplicity," said Scott Dickerson, Executive Director of Coastal Mountains Land Trust, "there are times when complexity compounds value. Each of the partners in this process brought complementary attributes to this project, and the results demonstrate the productivity of cooperation."

The Maine Water Company is a regulated public utility committed to providing high quality water and world-class service to families and communities, while being good stewards of the environment. It owns or manages public water systems serving over 16,000 customers throughout Maine in twenty communities. .

Coastal Mountains Land Trust permanently conserves land to benefit the natural and human communities of western Penobscot Bay. In its 26th year, the 9,129 acres of land it has conserved host more than 30 miles of trails and protect biological diversity, water resources, productive farms and forests, and scenic landscapes essential to our quality of place. Support the Bald & Ragged Mountains Campaign and help us complete conservation of the Hart Property!

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LAND CONSERVATION SHOWS BIG GAINS DESPITE RECESSION

(CAMDEN)--The first census of land trusts in five years found 10 million new acres conserved nationwide since 2005, including close to 2 million here in Maine. The National Land Trust Census, recently released by the Land Trust Alliance, shows that voluntarily protected land increased 27 percent between 2005 and 2010. In the same time period, the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, a major federal conservation program, added just over 500,000 acres and saw a 38% funding cut. The census is online at www.lta.org/census.

A total of 47 million acres--an area over twice the size of all the national parks in the contiguous United States--is now protected by land trusts. A greater percentage of the new acreage comes through local and state land trusts like Coastal Mountains Land Trust, which serves the western Penobscot Bay region. According to the census, Maine land trusts conserved 143,710 acres between 2005 and 2010, an 8% increase in land protected. Just as noteworthy is the fact that Maine came in right behind California as having conserved the highest total acreage of all other states in that time frame.

"People in Maine recognize that our scenic beauty, abundant wildlife, outdoor recreation opportunities, clean water, and productive forests and farms all contribute to our economy and quality of place. They are the primary reason people live, work, and play here," said Scott Dickerson, Executive Director of Coastal Mountains Land Trust. "Our role as a land trust is to sustain this natural legacy for the benefit of current and future generations, a role that has thankfully been consistently supported by like-minded landowners and loyal donors."

Coastal Mountains Land Trust has made significant gains in the past five years despite the economic turmoil. Close to 5,000 acres were conserved between 2005 and 2010, doubling the total conserved acreage in the western Penobscot Bay region. Significant progress was made in the Land Trust's special focus areas, including conservation of 616 acres on Bald and Ragged Mountains, boosting to almost 50% the acreage goal to preserve these two keystone mountains. Coastal Mountains Land Trust also made tremendous progress in its ongoing efforts in Belfast's Passagassawakeag Greenway, as well as completing its largest conservation acquisition to date by accepting transfer of two forested properties in Searsport, Stockton Springs, and Prospect in 2010.

An enhanced tax deduction for conservation easement donations has helped America's land trusts work with farmers, ranchers and other modest-income landowners to sustain a remarkable pace of more than one million acres protected by conservation easements each year! During the five-year census period, Coastal Mountains Land Trust protected almost 1,200 acres with conservation easements--primarily farms, forests, and land with water frontage or prime wetlands.
Other findings of the new National Land Trust Census include:

Land trusts saw a 70% increase in volunteers from the previous 5-year period.
Operating budgets for land trusts are up 36% since 2005. State and local trusts nearly tripled operating endowments in five years ensuring that land trust-protected land stays protected.
The preservation of family farms and ranchlands is now a priority for 61% of trusts, up from 21% that listed farmland as the top priority in 2005.
Urban parks, gardens or open spaces is now a priority for 27 % of trusts, a threefold increase over respondents in 2005.

Coastal Mountains Land Trust has been working since 1986 to permanently protect land to benefit the natural and human communities of the western Penobscot Bay region, and has been nationally accredited since 2008. The Land Trust has protected more than 9,000 acres in the interest of biological diversity, water resources, sustainable farms and forestry practices, and the scenic landscapes essential to our quality of place. For more information call (207) 236-7091.
The Land Trust Alliance is a national conservation organization based in Washington, D.C., that works to save the places people love by increasing the pace of conservation, so more land and natural resources get protected, enhancing the quality of conservation, so the most important lands get protected using the best practices in the business, and ensuring the permanence of conservation by creating the laws and resources needed to defend protected land over time.

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Archived News Stories

Note: Most news stories below are in PDF format. Please be patient if you see a white screen for awhile--some of the older stories contain images, which may slow the download process on your computer.

2011

LAND CONSERVATION SHOWS BIG GAINS DESPITE RECESSION (11/22/11)

2011 RUN FOR THE HILLS RACE RESULTS (9/10/11)

LAND TRUST RECEIVES GRANT SUPPORT FOR VOLUNTEER PROGRAM (8/29/11)

From the Bangor Daily News: My Favorite Places in Maine: Beech Hill Preserve (3/2/11)

LAND TRUST OPENS NEW SKI TRAILIN PARTNERSHIP WITH SNOW BOWL (1/27/11)

RAGGED MOUNTAIN CONSERVATION GAINS NEW MOMENTUM (1/13/11)

CMP LAND TRANSFER HELPS LAND TRUST END 2010 ON HIGH NOTE (1/5/11)

2010

From the Maine Sunday Telegram: a feature on our Beech Hill Preserve including the video below (11/20/10):

From the November - December issue of Maine magzine: "In Land We Trust," a feature by Maura Ewing on land trusts in Maine, including Coastal Mountains Land Trust (11/15/2010)

Executive Director Scott Dickerson's informational letter to the Camden Select Board regarding the Land Trust's conserved lands on Ragged Mountain in the context of potential wind power development there (mailed 8/23/10; posted here 10/8/10)

2010 RUN FOR THE HILLS RACE RESULTS (9/13/10)

LAND TRUST EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR JOINS NATIONAL ACCREDITATION COMMISSION (8/2/10)

LAND TRUST CONSERVES MORE THAN 8,000 ACRES BY END OF 2009 (1/6/2010)

2009

LAND TRUST COMPLETES FIRST PROJECT IN MORRILL (11/25/2009)

Wonderful Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors magazine article on Beech Nut by Carol Des Lauriers Cieri, with photographs by Brian Vanden Brink (11/11/2009)

LAND TRUST COMPLETES BEECH HILL CAMPAIGN! (10/09/2009)

FIRST ANNUAL RUN FOR THE HILLS A RUNAWAY SUCCESS IN BELFAST (9/21/2009)

LAND TRUST TO PURCHASE KEY RIVERFRONT PROPERTY IN GREENWAY (9/10/2009)

ART FOR THE LAND: CONTOURS ART SHOW AT CARVER HILL GALLERY TO BENEFIT LAND TRUST (7/24/2009)

TOWN OF CAMDEN SIGNS RIVERWALK EASEMENT (5/1/2009)

BANK OF AMERICA DONATES BELFAST LAND TO LAND TRUST (1/30/2009)