Map / Courtesy Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust
The Magalloway Project would connect contiguous conserved lands to the east and west in the Appalachian Mountain range.
9 hours ago
Groups aim to raise $62M to conserve land in western Maine
Photo / Courtesy Jerry Monkman
The Magalloway River is part of a proposed 78,000-acre conservation project in Oxford County.
Four conservation organizations launched a campaign to raise $62 million to conserve 78,000 acres in Oxford County along the New Hampshire border for environmental and recreational purposes.
Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust, Forest Society of Maine, Northeast Wilderness Turst and the Nature Conservancy, who come together as the Magalloway Collaborative, aim to fund the project by May 2026.
The Magalloway Project would connect a total of a half million acres of contiguous conserved lands to the east and west in the Appalachian Mountain range, according to a news release.
The $62 million would cover the cost of acquiring the land, plus a percentage for project management and a stewardship fund to ensure care of the land into the future.
The project would maintain existing recreational access to the property’s lands and waters, establish forested buffers around rivers, lakes and streams, continue opportunities for active forest management on 62,500 acres and designate a 11,200-acre wilderness preserve.
The campaign is “off to a good start,” David Miller, executive director of the Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust, told Mainebiz.
Miller declined to cite how much had been raised so far. Funding sources are almost entirely large institutional donors and private individuals, he said. A small sum is expected to come from federal funding.
The project would maintain existing recreational access to the property’s lands and waters, establish forested buffers around rivers, lakes and streams, continue opportunities for active forest management on 62,500 acres and designate a 11,200-acre wilderness preserve.
“This effort supports our region's climate resiliency, helps prevent the loss of biodiversity and preserves public access,” Miller said.
The project was negotiated in partnership with Wagner Forest Management, a timberland investment management firm headquartered in Lyme, N.H. Wagner represented the property owner, Bayroot LLC, in the deal.
Terms
While Bayroot would continue to own most of the property, the Forest Society of Maine would hold a permanent conservation easement.
Northeast Wilderness Trust will acquire more than 11,000 acres of the property to establish a new wilderness preserve within the headwaters of the Magalloway River and the upland forests of Ledge Ridge and Rump Mountain. The area expands on adjacent ecological reserves in New Hampshire’s Connecticut Lakes Region.
Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust will own and manage over 4,000 acres for recreation and wildlife habitat, including corridors along the Little Magalloway and Magalloway rivers and a forest tract southeast of Route 16 near Cupsuptic Lake.
Habitat
The Magalloway region is home to brook trout fishing, hunting and other outdoor recreation opportunities and wildlife habitats. The proposed conservation easement offers additional habitat protections with 100-foot, no-cut buffers along high-priority brook trout streams.
“Conserving these lands will safeguard wildlife from increasing environmental threats, connect them to other conserved lands and allow for sustainable recreation, such as hunting and fishing, to continue,” said Judy Camuso, commissioner of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
Recreation
The land is accessible from Route 16 and a network of privately owned forest roads. Vehicular access is limited by gates on the northern third of the project area to enhance remote recreational opportunities and protect key wildlife habitat.
Boating access to the majority of the lakes and streams across the property will continue. Snowmobiling, a popular winter activity on the property and established trails connecting Maine and New Hampshire will remain open to use.
Recreational users will still be able to hire Registered Maine Guides for activities including hunting, fishing, and wildlife viewing.
Wabanaki homeland
Partners acknowledged the Magalloway lands and waters are part of the homeland of the Wabanaki Tribal Nations, the People of the Dawnland, and said they hope the project will create opportunities for Wabanaki Peoples to strengthen and reestablish their cultural and spiritual caretaking of this place
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