A view of the Bamford Pond Woodland Conservation area in Fayette. The Kennebec Land Trust recently acquired the 53-acre parcel from Jim and Jane Brogan. Courtesy of Kennebec Land Trust
FAYETTE – Jane Brogan remembers riding Sancy, one of the many horses she once owned, into the vast woodlands she owned with her husband Jim, in Fayette. The longtime Fayette resident couple has now donated the 53-acre Bamford Pond Woodland Conservation Area to the Kennebec Land Trust.
Jim and Jane Brogan had owned and maintained the land for decades, since 1991, and after recent discussions with the land trust’s Land Committee members, the Brogans signed over the property in November.
“We have lived in his neighborhood for a long time. There is no development here, we know all our neighbors and it’s a quiet and peaceful place,” Jane said. “We wanted to conserve it.”
The conservation area protects scenic woodland and wetland habitats in a neighborhood untouched by infrastructural developments. The forests, wetlands and other neighboring conservation areas are privately owned. The land is home to animals like black bears and moose — species with extensive home ranges.
“It’s beautiful! We see deer every morning and night, and that’s something we want to conserve for the future,” Jane added.
The newly acquired land also neighbors a popular snowmobile trail and other properties owned by the land trust, including Baldwin Hill Conservation Area, Sturtevant Farm Scenic Area and Hales Pond Woodland Preserve properties.
Jane said the donation was inspired by her parents.
“When my mother died in 1997, she donated 17 acres from a 40-acre land on Route 17 owned by my father and her where they lived,” she said. “There is one of the oldest maple trees on that land, now conserved. They donated it to (the Kennebec Land Trust), which at the time, was still a new organization. We, too, are inspired by our parents’ generosity.”
With this acquisition, the land trust has conserved 7,753 acres with 58 miles of trails open to all residents for recreational activities like hunting, skiing, fishing and nature observation.
At the Bamford Pond Woodland Conservation Area, there are no designated trails but people will be able to hunt and bushwhack.
“KLT’s land conservation programs are a hopeful example of how conservation organizations and private landowners are making a big difference in Maine and the world,” said Howard Lake, the land trust’s director. “Permanently protected and well-managed lands like the Bamford Pond Conservation Area sequester carbon – a natural climate solution.”
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