More than 27,000 acres of forest in Bethel, Maine are now permanently protected, and plans include developing a trail network that connects two area ski resorts: Sunday River and Mount Abram.
The Conservation Fund recently announced it has protected more than 27,000 acres from development, including 11,000 acres at Chadbourne Tree Farm. Officials with The Conservation Fund said conserving the land will protect the area’s water supply and allow the development of a trail network that will attract hikers and skiers to the area.
Included in the now-protected land are the last large pieces needed to connect two Bethel-area ski resorts—Sunday River Resort and Mount Abram—with a continuous trail network, turning what was once a boundary between two mountains into a single, connected outdoor destination open to hikers, skiers and cyclists throughout the year.
Additionally, Chadbourne Tree Farm sits at the headwaters of the Sebago Lake watershed, providing drinking water for more than 200,000 people in the greater Portland area. Officials with The Conservation Fund said the tree farm’s forests provide a critical corridor for wildlife adapting to a changing climate.
“This forest could have been sold off, fragmented and closed to the public forever,” said Tom Duffus, vice president and Northeast representative for The Conservation Fund. “Instead, thanks to an extraordinary group of partners, it will supply clean water, grow timber and jobs, and offer trail access, forever.”
Additional lands secured as part of the larger effort include a 560-acre addition to the Inland Woods + Trails Bethel Community Forest; over 1,300 acres added to Western Foothills Land Trust’s Twin Bridges and other preserves; over 328 acres to Greater Lovell Land Trust’s Kezar Corridor Lands; 600 acres to White Mountain National Forest; and 12,000 acres to Mahoosuc Land Trust’s holdings, including 11,000 acres conserved as the Crooked River Headwaters easement project and a nearly 1,000-acre Tumbledown Dick Preserve in Gilead.
