Appalachian Mountain Club buys 27,000-acre Piscataquis County forest for $18.5M
Courtesy / Jerry Monkman
Acquisition of the 27,000-acre forest Pleasant River Headwaters Forest in Piscataquis County is expected to preserve outdoor recreation and forestry industry opportunities as well as habitat. Seen here is the West Branch of the Pleasant River near Silver Lake.
The Appalachian Mountain Club added to its Maine holdings with the acquisition of a 27,000-acre forest in Piscataquis County for $18.5 million.
“Through AMC’s ownership, we will expand existing fish habitat restoration efforts to benefit threatened species like native brook trout and endangered Atlantic salmon, conduct responsible forestry operations, and offer the public guaranteed access to outdoor recreation opportunities,” AMC’s interim president and CEO, Susan Arnold, said in a news release.
The club bought the Pleasant River Headwaters Forest from the Conservation Fund. The purchase, first agreed to in 2019, is part of Appalachian Mountain Club's Maine Woods Initiative, a multi-use recreation and land conservation project.
To date, AMC has acquired and permanently protected more than 100,000 acres of forest and fish habitat in Maine, investing more than $87.5 million.
The Pleasant River Headwaters Forest is in the center of the 100-Mile Wilderness that stretches along the Appalachian Trail corridor from Monson to Baxter State Park. Acquiring and restoring the property will conserve one of the last remaining large, unprotected forest blocks in the region.
“Our acquisition of the Pleasant River Headwaters Forest is a tremendous milestone in AMC’s ongoing commitment to advance the overall ecological and economic health of the region,” said Arnold.
The club’s Maine Woods Initiative seeks to permanently protect land in Maine’s 100-Mile Wilderness through an approach to conservation that combines outdoor recreation, resource protection, responsible forestry, education and community partnerships. It is a major component of AMC’s efforts to address climate change.
As part of the initiative, AMC has developed a nature-based tourism operation that includes a series of lodges, 130 miles of trails for hiking and skiing, an environmental education program for schools throughout the region, and an International Dark Sky Park designation. It also launched a responsible forestry operation and developed a forest carbon offset program.
“This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to protect a piece of the largest contiguous undeveloped forest in the eastern United States that forms the heart of a globally significant watershed,” said Steve Tatko, the club’s senior director of Maine conservation.
The purchase helps to expand a buffer of forest around the northernmost 100 miles of the Appalachian Trail, and protects regional forest products jobs, he said.
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