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PHOTO: Land in Common, in Greene, will be able to preserve 105 through a recent grant. (Land in Common photo)
ELLSWORTH – Three central and western Maine land projects have been supported through 2022 Maine Land Protection grants from the Maine Community Foundation.
Land in Common received a $35,500 grant from the program to buy 105 acres in Greene, 70 of which will be returned to Wabanaki care, 22 will be added to an existing agricultural ground lease, and 13 will become long-term ground leases for new BIPOC land stewards.
Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust, received a $10,000 grant from donor-advised funds under the program to buy parcels in the valley between Saddleback and Mount Abraham, protecting 3,354 acres that will become part of the state’s Mount Abraham Public Reserve Land unit.
Western Foothills Land Trust, also from donor-advised funds, received $10,000 to buy 52 acres to help create a 2,300-acre conserved landscape stretching from Waterford and Harrison to Norway and Otisfield.
Overall, support in 2022 from the Maine Community Foundation Maine Land Protection grant program will conserve more than 4,000 acres across the state. Seven nonprofit conservation projects received grants totaling $173,600 to protect land from Washington to Cumberland counties. For a full list of grantees, visit mainecf.org/recentgrants.
The Maine Land Protection grant program was launched in 2020 and has awarded more than $1.9 million to 31 projects in its first three years. It focuses specifically on larger land acquisition and conservation easement projects and prioritizes proposals that create or expand access to land and water for underserved people and communities.
