An Extraordinary Opportunity
From Winter 2010 Maine Environment
The last few months have given birth to a new cooperative effort that holds promise for landscape-scale land conservation in Maine’s North Woods. Last July, Secretary Salazar of the Department of the Interior visited Maine at the invitation of Senator Susan Collins. While he was here, a group of people interested in protecting the future of Maine’s forests (including NRCM’s then board president, Eleanor Kinney) met with the Secretary.
Before that meeting, the Secretary had little knowledge of the vastness, beauty, and economic, ecological, and recreational value of Maine’s North Woods. He did not know that Maine is home to the largest unfragmented forest east of the Mississippi River. As a result of the visit, he invited landowners, conservationists, and others to work together to craft a landscape-scale conservation proposal that could qualify for federal support.
Since then, representatives of the Baldacci Administration, landowners, conservation NGOs, the Maine Forest Products Council, and others have been meeting to develop a shared vision for Maine’s North Woods that keeps the forest intact and enhances its economic, ecological, recreational, and community values.
In November, members of this working group traveled to Washington to meet again with Secretary Salazar, Secretary Vilsack of the Department of Agriculture, and Maine’s congressional delegation. Like Salazar, Vilsack expressed strong interest in the possibilities for forestland conservation in Maine. He asked our group to submit a specific pilot project proposal in February 2010.
Since those November meetings, NRCM has worked with other participants to identify regional landscapes on a scale of 500,000 to 2 million acres that would serve as candidate pilot project proposals. We are reaching out to a larger set of conservation organizations to discuss potential areas, talking with landowners about their potential interest in participating, exploring a broad range of possible sources of funding, and assessing the kinds of tools that might be used to protect our forested landscape on a large scale.
Our efforts are very much a “work in progress” as I write this column, but each proposed pilot project will likely have three components: 1) Acquiring from willing sellers high-value ecological and recreational areas through fee purchase and/or conservation easement; 2) Maintaining as sustainably managed forest the areas surrounding the high-value ecological and recreational areas; and 3) Compensating land owners for improved management of water resources, wildlife habitat, and the quality of the forest.
What area or areas of the North Woods will be chosen as candidates for this first pilot remains to be decided. But all involved with this process understand that this is a unique opportunity to create a new partnership of private land owners, the state of Maine, and the federal government to conserve the North Woods. This endeavor is a multi-year effort. We expect that, if we are successful with our pilot proposal this year, success will lead to future opportunities.
For years, federal funding for land protection has gone primarily to the western U.S. We are excited about this new opportunity and cautiously hopeful that Maine is finally going to receive our fair share.
Everyone involved in this important initiative is investing tremendous energy in a cooperative venture to help secure the future of Maine’s northern forests. We recognize that future generations of Maine citizens will derive many benefits from the North Woods as a sustainably managed working forest, a world class recreation destination, and a healthy, intact ecological system.
This enterprise will need the full and enthusiastic support of Maine’s congressional delegation. If you are writing or speaking with any member of the delegation, be sure to remind them how spectacularly beautiful Maine’s North Woods are, how important they are for habitat for moose, deer, lynx, migratory songbirds, and many other plants and animals, and how vital they are for jobs in the outdoor recreation economy.
Much work remains to be done, and the outcome of our collective efforts is uncertain. But we have been offered a great opportunity, and we must seize it! As this project moves forward, we will keep you informed of our progress.
—Brownie Carson, Executive Director
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