York Town News
York Land Trust adds 27-plus acres to Mount A to the Sea preservation efforts
By Jennifer L. Saunders
CAPE NEDDICK - With the York Land Trust's recent purchase of land from two local residents, almost 28 undeveloped acres were added to the effort to protect open space in the Mount Agamenticus region.And for members of the York Land Trust and its partner organizations in the Mount Agamenticus to the Sea Coalition, that is very good news.
York Land Trust Executive Director Doreen MacGillis formally announced the new acquisitions on Friday, Dec. 8.
"The property abuts lands owned by Maine Dept of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and adds another big chunk of protected forest to the thousands of acres that have already been permanently protected near Mount A," MacGillis said Monday. "This is good news for many species of plants and animals who make their homes here and whose survival is dependent on keeping this vast, wooded area intact."
According to a description of the parcel provided by the York Land Trust, the acres consist of "rolling terrain, with wetlands and granite outcroppings. Stone walls still remain as testimony to the fact that the area was once farmed, logged for lumber and cut over for firewood. But today the Mount Agamenticus region's mixed-growth forest appears largely undisturbed."
The York Land Trust purchased the two adjacent parcels, which total slightly less than 28 acres combined, from York residents Neil Ramsdell and Kenneth Moulton. The acreage is located near the summit of the mountain, between Second Hill and Third Hill.
"The newly-acquired lands, like those adjoining, will remain open to the public for hiking, hunting, skiing and bird watching," MacGillis noted.
The Mount Agamenticus to the Sea Coalition has preserved approximately 1,556 acres in southern York County through the acquisition of parcels like these over the past four years. At this time, a total of 32 properties have been protected through the effort.
According to the York Land Trust, there are many reasons why protecting such parcels is so important, including the unique natural features of the region.
"Pine, hemlock, red and white oak, beech and maple are abundant," according to the York Land Trust's description of the area. "Chestnut oaks flourish here at the northernmost edge of their range as reminders that, in this forest, northern and southern habitats uniquely meet, to yield an incomparable spread of species."
The Mount A to the Sea Conservation Initiative is a coalition of 10 partners including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, Trust for Public Land, The Nature Conservancy, Great Works Regional Land Trust, Kittery Land Trust, York Land Trust and York Rivers Association.
The York Land Trust, founded 20 years ago in 1986, is a private, member-supported, not-for-profit organization that, by its own description is "dedicated to conserving and protecting lands of ecological, historic, scenic, agricultural and cultural significance" in the greater York area.
