Push on to meet conservation goal
by Donna Perry (from the Lewiston SunJournal 10/31/01)
WELD--The Tumbledown Conservation Alliance needs to raise $150,000
more to meet a goal of $300,000 in private funds by December 31
in order to meet a deadline for Phase 1 of a plan to conserve
more than 33,000 acres in the Mount Blue State Park/Tumbledown
region.
Members of Foothills Land Conservancy based in Franklin County
donated $10,000 to the effort in hopes of encouraging other organizations
and individuals to raise the remaining $150,000 just for the first
phase, said Dan Seabold, president of the land conservancy.
He presented Gwyn Sewall, treasurer of the Tumbledown Conservation
Alliance, with a check for $10,000 Tuesday.
The conservancy organization knows how it feels to have to raise
matching funds to secure leverage for state and federal grants,
he said. Members raised enough money to conserve 238 acres on
the headwaters of Wilson Pond a few years ago.
"Foothills Land Conservancy recognizes the absolute necessity
of helping and assisting Tumbledown Conservation Alliance to meet
its private funding goal," Seabold said.
Since 1999, members of the alliance have worked with the state
and the Trust for Public Land, the organization negotiating the
land deals on behalf of the state, to create a comprehensive vision
for the Tumbledown/Mt. Blue region. Through a combination of land
and conservation easement purchases, the three groups hope to
conserve more than 50,000 acres.
The Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit land conservation
organization, currently has 19,4000 acres under agreement, and
will continue to pursue other critical properties in the region,
Sewall said. Phase 1 and Phase 2 of this effort will conserve
about 30,000 acres for a cost of about $8 million. Funds are being
sought through federal and state programs, but in order to secure
and leverage public funds, the groups must also raise $1.8 million
in private matching funds.
In Phase 1, the trust will conserve about 7,600 acres adjacent
to Mt. Blue State Park, including the park entrance and existing
multi-use trails, critical wildlife habitat and land adjacent
to the state campground on Webb Lake. These properties are under
agreement and are sought through a combination of outright purchases
and conservation easement acquisitions this fall.
In Phase 2, the Tumbledown range, including the peaks of Tumbledown,
Jackson and Little Jackson mountains, will be conserved through
outright purchase and conservation easement acquisitions. The
trust organization has an agreement to acquire about 11,800 acres
in Township 6 north of Weld, and continues to negotiate with other
key landowners, Sewall said. To complete Phase 2, the organizations
must raise $1.5 million in private funds.
Donations may be made to The Trust for Public Land/Tumbledown
Project and sent to Tumbledown Conservation Alliance, c/o Gwyn
Sewall, treasurer, POB 24, Weld, ME 04285, or to Anne Truslow
at the Trust for Public Land, 245 Commercial St., Portland, ME
04101. Donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by
law.
Tumbledown Conservation Alliance