PHOTO: An easement on forestland in the Crooked River Watershed in Waterford, Greenwood, Norway and Albany Township will help protect the Sebago Lake watershed. (Sebago Clean Waters photo)
BETHEL — Some 12,268 acres of forest land in Oxford County was recently conserved, part of the effort to protect thousands of acres of high priority forests in western Maine. Maine’s forests play a critical role in filtering and supporting clean drinking water, as well as securing recreation opportunities and access to nature.
Mahoosuc Land Trust, in Bethel; Sebago Clean Waters, landowners Mary McFadden and Larry Stifler and The Conservation Fund, in partnership with the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and Portland Water District, announced the conservation easement in the Crooked River watershed. Also involved are Western Foothills Land Trust, of Norway, and Inland Woods and Trails, of Bethel.
The Crooked River is the largest tributary to Sebago Lake. The lake is the primary drinking water supply for more than 200,000 Maine residents in the greater Portland area and one of only 50 public surface water supplies in the U.S. that requires no filtration before treatment.
The easement, held and stewarded by Mahoosuc Land Trust on the privately owned property, will permanently protect the forestland from development, and preserve its ecological, recreational and water quality benefits for the community.
Mary McFadden and Larry Stifler spurred the acquisition of the land, which is in the territory of the Wabanaki people in what are now the towns of Waterford, Greenwood, Norway and Albany Township. The landscape is abundant with critical wildlife habitat and awe-inspiring mountain views, and features nine pristine ponds, approximately six miles of frontage on the Crooked River and intact forestlands that are crucial for local resiliency against the effects of climate change.
Identified as a top conservation priority by Sebago Clean Waters, the property achieves 21 percent of the coalition’s goal to conserve 35,000 acres in the Sebago Lake watershed.
Funding was from Sebago Clean Waters using a portion of a five-year award from the NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program Alternative Funding Arrangement program, made possible by the 2018 Farm Bill; The Conservation Trust, Portland Water District, Maine Community Foundation, The Nature Conservancy and Maine Mountain Collaborative, along with additional Sebago Clean Waters funding.
