A 78,000-acre tract of land will be in permanent conservation in the Magalloway River region of western Maine, if a deal agreed to by four Maine conservation groups and the logging company that owns most of the property makes it to fruition.
The agreement is contingent on raising the $62 million needed to close the deal by May 2026.
The new parcel in Oxford County connects two properties already in conservation on either side of it in Maine and New Hampshire, creating a 500,000-acre piece of contiguous conserved land. It includes Aziscohos Lake, the Magalloway River, about 30 brooks and streams and Rump Mountain.
The Magalloway region is considered one of the last strongholds for wild native brook trout in the United States, according to the conservation groups.
Maine partners Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust, Forest Society of Maine, Northeast Wilderness Trust and The Nature Conservancy negotiated the agreement with landowner Bayroot LLC through Wagner Forest Management.
“Today, these lands have many potential uses and sources of value. This conservation deal allows Wagner to focus on the landowner’s core interest of sustainable forest management, ” said Dan Hudnut of Wagner. “No further lot development. No potential wind farms or transmission line corridors. No new commercial recreation ventures.”
The landowner will continue to own 62,500 acres and manage the forest for logging, but agreed to no-cut buffer areas around all lakes, ponds and streams, according to David Miller of the Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust. The conservation groups have plans to restore those areas.
All current uses will be allowed on most of the land, including hunting, fishing, hiking, snowmobiling, boating and viewing wildlife. Interconnected Trail System 84 snowmobile trail that connects Maine to New Hampshire will be allowed to continue. Outdoors enthusiasts and sportsmen will still be able to hire guides for hunting, fishing and other activities on the property.
No existing dams will be removed, primarily to keep invasive species such as bass out of brook trout waters.
Registered Maine guides, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and recreational clubs all support the project.
“The Magalloway region possesses prime wildlife habitat. 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 DIF&W.
Some of the animals that live in the region include Canada lynx, black bear, moose, ruffed grouse, white-tailed deer and more than 20 species of warblers.
The land will be accessed by the Wabanaki Nations with the hope they will strengthen and re-establish their cultural and spiritual caretaking of it, according to the partners. In addition, protection of these lands connects vast, unfragmented forest in the Northern Appalachians, which will remain an important haven for wildlife as global temperatures rise, the groups said.
A total of 11,200 of the acreage, including the headwaters of the Magalloway River and the forests of Rump Mountain and Ledge Ridge, will be designated a wilderness preserve, protecting it for diversity of wildlife and carbon storage, and from development.
That area is already gated to vehicular traffic, just as it has been for decades, but will continue to welcome all non-motorized recreational uses, including hunting and fishing, according to Jon Leibowitz of Northeast Wilderness Trust, which will own and oversee the preserve.
The four conservation groups also gained the right to maintain access roads for recreational use when the logging company abandons them, said Miller, whose Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust will own 4,400 acres outright.
Fundraising efforts are launching now and the groups hope to attract large institutional donors and private individuals. They also have a little federal money, but didn’t specify how much.
The money raised will be used to buy land and easements, plus a little for surveys, appraisals and assessments, Miller said.
“We are the local face for this region, but we could not have done this on our own,” Miller said about the partnership Rangeley Lakes Land Trust has with the other conservation groups.
The inability to accomplish such a huge and important conservation project alone was expressed by each group. Each had been discussing conservation opportunities separately with Wagner. When the groups began talking about it at Maine Mountain Collaborative meetings they all attend, they realized they had a chance for a big project together, said Mark Berry of The Nature Conservancy.
It made sense for the Forest Society of Maine to be involved, since one of its strengths is negotiating easements, said Chris Beichner, speaking for the group. He also liked the collaborative nature of the project.
“The area offers world-class [outdoors] sports and recreation,” he said.
Wagner had worked with each group individually on other projects as well, Hudnut said. Bayroot had been fielding inquiries about conservation projects since the company purchased the land in 2003. The success of earlier smaller projects made it easier for the company to tackle something larger, he said.
Even difficult conversations, such as those regarding protections for wild native brook trout habitat, were respectful and professional, Hudnut said.
One of the most important things to come out of the project is to preserve a way of life that Mainers have enjoyed traditionally and that faces serious threats, including pressures from development, Miller said.
“We love this place and need to make sure we can still be part of it. Without it, Maine loses its identity,” he said.
Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled Dan Hudnut’s last name.