York Town News
York Land Trust introduces residents to conservation lands with drive-about tour
By Melissa Wood
YORK - On Saturday, June 10, the York Land Trust acquainted the public with some of the properties it has worked to protect with a drive-about tour.The trust manages 37 properties of almost 1,500 acres. The properties are a mixture of lands either protected under conservation easements or owned by the trust, some with public access and some without.
"The tour allows people to look around and celebrate what their efforts have helped to protect," said Executive Director Doreen MacGillis.
Stewardship Coordinator Don Leuchs hosted the drive-about tour, showcasing properties that ranged from rolling fields along Route 91 to the rocky coastline of Godfrey Cove, and from the peaceful shores of Lake Caroline in Cape Neddick to the busy center of York Village.
The drive-about tour's first destination was Route 91 - Cider Hill Road - where the trust manages quite a number of properties. The area is characterized by historic farms and open fields, often with the York River in the background. The McIntire Garrison house, one of the oldest buildings in Maine, is part of the 46-acre Davis easement, which also includes a salt marsh managed for hay production.
Further down the road the tour came to Highland Farm, which was first founded in 1660 that is now slated for subdivision. The land trust has worked to protect 20 acres, including the existing orchard, by subdivision easement. Leuchs said that often when subdivisions are created, the trust works with the developer and town to cluster properties on smaller lots and set aside some of the land for conservation.
Subdivision easements are a type of conservation easements where landowners still maintain ownership but give up rights to develop the land. In return for giving up these rights, landowners are granted special provisions, such as tax deductions. The deduction may be higher if the owner allows public access as that can be seen as creating a higher level of public good.
The majority of areas that allow public access are not under conservation easement, but are owned outright by the York Land Trust. This includes the Hilton-Winn Kings Grant conservation area, a property that includes 185 acres of forest, fields and wetlands with 1,000 feet along the Ogunquit River, donated by Ethel Hilton and Pike Industries. Public access is made easier by a parking lot and boardwalk.
While the Hilton-Winn land is a destination for the public, other protected parcels are rarely seen. Leuchs said a number of properties are backcountry lots that the trust has acquired over the years.
"As you're walking the woods, you'll sort of come across those properties," he said.
The tour passed by some familiar village landmarks that are also protected properties. The Sewall's Bridge dock, for example, is protected by a .15-acre conservation easement, which was put in place in cooperation with local fishermen to protect working waterfront on the York River. The commons in front of the York Public Library was donated by the Library Association and the Viele family for the enjoyment of the public.
The tour included a drive down Godfrey Cove Road, where the trust recently put in place an easement on the oceanfront Hosmer property, which contains 30 acres of fields and forests, along with 1,000 feet of rocky ocean shoreline and a view of Braveboat Harbor. This property can only be viewed from the road or from the sea, as the terms of the easement does not allow public access.
Members of the public may still be able to step foot on them, however, by volunteering for one of the trust's monitoring walks. The trust has a responsibility to keep an eye on the lands it manages, and so it schedules monitoring walks on the first Wednesday or third Saturday of each month. Volunteers are welcome to join by contacting the trust.
Although the drive-about tour did not include the Mount Agamenticus area, land around the mountain has been a key target in preservation efforts. Much of the conservation area belongs to the state, and the trust often acts a conduit in transactions by negotiating with landowners, obtaining grants and monitoring protected parcels. These efforts are a part of the trust's works with the Mt. Agamenticus to the Sea Conservation Initiative, a group of conservation organizations working together on regional preservation, spanning six towns and 48,000 acres.
The protected land around Mount Agamenticus includes the Josiah Norton Preserve, 250 wooded acres open for public recreational use with access from Josiah Norton Road or from other wooded trails. In 2005, the town of York provided $150,000 - about half the purchase price - to protect the land. The York Land Trust obtained the other half from federal funding.
One of the tour's final stops was at the piece of property whose protection initiated the creation of the York Land Trust. In 1986, Edith Bird donated three acres of woods and wetland along Lake Caroline in Cape Neddick. One of the conditions of the gift was that the property be managed by a not-yet-created land trust. The York Land Trust formed around this donation.
More information about the York Land Trust, including ways to get involved, dates of monitoring walks and descriptions of and directions to protected properties, can be found on the York Land Trust's Web site: www.yorklandtrust.org.
