FAYETTE, Maine — More than 50,000 acres of land around Maine will be conserved as part of a land protection drive, according to a charitable foundation.
The Maine Community Foundation said funding for the 15 conservation projects involved in the effort totals $619,000. The group said it awarded $145,000 while the rest of the money is from donors.
The conservation projects include a $15,000 grant to the Kennebec Land Trust for an acquisition project in Fayette that will protect a wetland buffer zone, the foundation said. A $49,000 grant to Bangor Land Trust will conserve more than seven acres of Wabanaki homeland for cultural uses, it said.
The foundation said the Coastal Mountains Land Trust will also receive $9,000 toward the acquisition of 64 acres as part of the Mt. Tuck Preserve in Stockton Springs and Prospect.
The projects “will ensure that more people will have access to Maine’s special places, our amazing landscape, and water resources,” said Maggie Drummond-Bahl, director of philanthropy at the foundation.