In what turned out to be a million dollar land deal, the heirs of three Unitarian ministers have entered conserved easements on 525 acres in the Sheepscot River watershed.
On Friday, Oct. 9 landowners and non-profit groups came together to celebrate roughly 10 years of hard work between them to permanently protect natural habitats, woodland and historical land for future generations.
The Sheepscot Valley Conservation Association (SVCA) and the Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine (SWOAM) worked together on the $1,000,000 project called the “Heart of the Watershed.” Organization members and landowners met on both properties for a walk Friday afternoon, marking the completion of the long-awaited goal.
Three miles of the easements abut the Sheepscot River, in Alna and Newcastle. The conservation deal ensures careful forest management of the woods along the river as well protection for the natural habitats of various plant species and Atlantic salmon.
According to the SVCA, the Sheepscot River is one of only eight rivers in the United States that support wild Atlantic salmon. An SVCA press release stated the permanent protection of certain river water plant species, called “riparian buffers” is an integral step in the US Fish and Wildlife Service Federal Recovery Plan to survival of the salmon.
Doreen Conboy and her husband Joe Barth, son of Joseph Barth Sr., conserved roughly 270 acres of their land in Alna with help from the SVCA. Barth’s father, the SVCA founder, was one of six ministers, classmates from the University of Chicago, who bought land in the Sheepscot River watershed area in the late 1930s.
As described by the conservation group, the Heart of the Watershed project started 10 years ago when Joe Barth approached the SVCA intending to protect land around his family’s 90-acre tree farm.
Barth and his wife bought an additional 180 acres, which they then sold to the SVCA, land the organization has added to their Bass Falls Preserve. The couple also donated a 92-acre easement to the non-profit group, preserving more land for future generations. Other members of the Barth family have put their land into conservation easements, including Joe’s brother, Roland, and two nieces.
William Weary sold a conservation easement on 254 acres of his nearby Newcastle property along the Sheepscot River to SWOAM, completing a long-standing plan he had with his father, Gerald Weary.
“I can’t tell you the sense of relief and joy I have in preserving this piece of land along the river,” William Weary said, adding that the process toward conservation was long and difficult.
Weary’s parents worked to preserve the woodlands on their property for decades since they bought it in the late 1930s and twice were chosen as Outstanding Maine Tree Farmers by the Maine Tree Farm Committee.
“From 1972 to 2002, the volume of wood has tripled,” Weary said, noting that even as trees are harvested, the forest management plan encourages tree growth.
“All of these pine trees are terrific habitat for bald eagles,” Maureen Hoffman, Executive Director of the SVCA said as she stood on the crest of a wide grassy hill that sloped toward the pine forest and river beyond.
Not only is the land conservation easement going to ensure sustainable forest management practices, the plan works to preserve land’s historical value.
According to information the organizations acquired from the Genealogical and Family History of the State of Maine, the Weary homestead was once owned by Sgt. Jesse Cooper, a farmer and lumberjack who, “got out the masts (36 inches in diameter by 96 feet in height) for the Constitution.
Coopers Mills in Whitefield was so named after the lumberman after he acquired the Sheepscot River mill some miles north of his home. The SVCA believes the masts for the “Old Ironsides”, the ship launched in 1797 and defeated five British war ships once grew on the Weary property.
The conservation efforts of both families took several years to complete, starting with the landowners approaching the organizations for help. Hoffman said that of the six ministers, the families of three ministers have put their properties into land conservation easements.
Conservation easements restrict subdivision of the properties and construction, while landowners and association members iron out the details of each easement plan. While such easements reduce possible tax income to a town, SWOAM Director Tom Doak said the open space and protected natural resources add value. The organization flyer also notes that sustainable forestry supports the wood products industry.
The Sheepscot River project took 10 years, because it involved multiple non-profit groups, government agencies, foundations and two private donors.
Doak said the plan details had to meet certain criteria. The SVCA approached other organizations with SWOAM to fund the project, including the Land for Maine’s Future. Hoffman said the Land for Maine’s Future not only donated money, but gave the project a “great score.”
The conservation groups garnered support from the Nature Conservancy, Maine Audubon and six private organizations. The project received significant grants from the Recovery Land Acquisition of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Maine Yankee Mitigation Fund, the Land for Maine’s Future Board and the Federal Landowner Incentive Program.
“This turned out to be the UN of land projects,” Hoffman said.
While only the Bass Falls Preserve portion of the land deal is open to the public, Hoffman said that the landowners have allowed visitors to walk the land with permission.
To learn more about the SVCA, their trails and open land, visit: www.sheepscot.org. Their phone number is 586-5616. The mailing address is 624 Sheepscot Rd., Newcastle, ME 04553.
The SWOAM website is: www.swoam.org. Their phone number is: 626-0005.The mailing address is 153 Hospital St., PO Box 836, Augusta, ME 04332.
