The property around Maquoit Bay that the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust is acquiring with the help of a state grant. Courtesy of Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust
A $245,000 grant will help the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust to preserve a 32-acre property around Maquoit Bay, Gov. Janet Mills’ administration announced Friday.
The money, from the Land for Maine’s Future program, will pay for about half of the land’s cost, according to land trust Executive Director Angela Twitchell.
“It’s hard to raise this much money, and being able to get half of it raised gets us a long way,” Twitchell said. “It’s critical for small, local nonprofits like ours.”
The Brunswick conservation project is one of nine across the state that were recently awarded a combined $6.7 million by the Land for Maine’s Future program. The other properties are in Lexington, Lovell, Ellsworth, Wells, Rumford, South Berwick, Haystack Mountain in Montville and the High Peaks Orbeton Keystones in Franklin County.
“These nine projects will preserve thousands of acres of land for the benefit and enjoyment of future generations,” Mills said in a statement. “I am proud that, through actions taken by the Legislature and my administration, we are continuing to protect more and more of our cherished natural resources.”
The Brunswick property is located at the head of Maquoit Bay by Wharton Point. The land trust is buying the property from the Sherwood family, which has long ties to Brunswick, according to Twitchell.
“We’re grateful to the Sherwood family to conserve this important parcel,” she said, adding the land trust is expected to close the transaction in December.
She said the land trust will reserve some of the property for public access, possibly for fishing, clamming and recreation trails.
The land trust, which oversees about 3,200 acres of conservation land in the Midcoast, has previously been awarded funds from Land for Maine’s Future program to preserve Crystal Spring Farm in Brunswick and several properties in Topsham. The program was established in 1987 and has helped conserve over 624,000 acres.
“These projects represent another example of Maine’s strong and enduring commitment to protecting our valuable natural resources, wildlife habitat and wilderness areas,” said Patrick Keliher, the commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources and the program’s chairperson.
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