Maine Heritage
Fall 2021 - Downeast Edition
From the President
Forever Grateful
Over the ten years I’ve served as president of MCHT, I’ve developed wonderful relationships with so many of you and, even with those I’ve not had the privilege to meet in person, I feel the strong connection that comes from a shared passion for the common cause of protecting Maine’s incredible coast.
There is an intimacy in the relationship between land and sea that is incredibly powerful. We respond to it instantly. We want to share in that relationship, and we are willing to work hard to sustain and protect it.
Featured Stories
Creating Common Ground
In 2017, a local nonprofit in Milbridge, Women for Healthy Rural Living (WHRL,) came to MCHT with an idea to create a new town park on the water with walking trails, a play area for kids, and gardens offering fresh food, free for the picking.
MCHT conserved the land and, over the next several years, helped bring WHRL’s vision for the Milbridge Commons Wellness Park to life. “People just really want to be there,” says one Milbridge resident. “It’s proving to be much more than anticipated.”
Large-scale Conservation Effort Makes Maine More Resilient
In September of this year, The Nature Conservancy acquired a 13,500-acre property west of Cherryfield to add to their Spring River Preserve, which now totals 23,500 acres. This is one in a string of conserved properties linking the downeast coast to the northern forest.
Maine Coast Heritage Trust, one of many partners in the project, contributed funding to make it possible.
Why Rivers Matter in a Changing Climate
Connected habitat is increasingly important for Maine’s wildlife. Species will need to move across the landscape to adapt to our rapidly changing climate. In Maine, rivers serve as critical corridors for wildlife movement. They provide a ribbon of connected habitat for native fish (particularly sea-run fish like Atlantic salmon and alewives).
Other wildlife species—including those that live on the land—also benefit from the cooler, moist habitat along rivers and depend on the water and food that rivers provide. MCHT is focused on protecting and restoring fish passage at five key coastal rivers.
In Brief
Name that MCHT Preserve
Some hints…
This was our very first preserve!
This place witnessed military action during both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.
Now forested, the land was mostly meadow in the nineteenth century and a popular place to take carriage rides.
Download a printable version of Maine Heritage (PDF, 1.7 MB)
Thanks to our Donors
Everything you read about here is possible thanks to MCHT donors and supporters. Thank you for all you do for the Maine coast.
Have you made your gift to MCHT? If not, give today, and keep up the good work for the coast.
Photo credits: Courtesy of Women for Healthy Rural Living (WHRL); MCHT; Courtesy of TNC/Mark Berry; copyright Ken Woisard Photography; copyright Ken Woisard Photography; copyright Ken Woisard Photography; photo credit: Courtesy of the Knox County Gleaners; Courtesy of Maine Beer Company; photo by Kirk Gentalen; Chris Bennett Photography