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NEWSLETTER
PA I D 97 Main Street Belfast, Maine 04915 phone: 207-338-6575 e-mail: info@mainefarmlandtrust.org website: www.mainefarmlandtrust.org
Spring/Summer 2015
Key project combines farmland protection, broader conservation
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Years ago, the Cripps family operated a thriving farm in Camden and Rockport. Now, thanks to a collaborative, multi-faceted project, a good-sized chunk of the original farm property has been permanently protected. By 2011, when MFT got involved, the farm, then owned by the Spear family, was no longer operating, and portions of the original property had been sold for residential and commercial development. The Spear family still retained 129 acres, but needed to sell. MFT purchased this land using a loan secured through Maine Coast Heritage Trust’s (MCHT) Revolving Loan Fund. MFT then partnered with MCHT and the local land trust, Coastal Mountains Land Trust (CMLT), to ensure a use of the property that would both support farming and preserve open space. MFT’s Adam Bishop, who shepherded the project, reflected that it is a terrific example of several conservation partners, each with their own goals, working together to produce an outcome that makes
In This Issue:
Page 01: Spear Farm protected in Camden/Rockport Page 02: Partnership with GWRLT & USDA FINI grant award Page 03: New program has protected 10 more farms Page 04: Policy & Reseach Fellow & Source award Page 05: Paint the Farm & FarmLink Mixers
sense for the land and the community. The project split the property
FRONT 97 Main Street, Belfast, ME 207.338.6575 mainefarmlandtrust.org
Newsletter Template Spring 2015.indd 1
Volume 14 , No. 1
PERMIT NO. 30 FARMINGTON, ME
Project partners. L-R: Doug Sensening of CMLT, Adam Bishop of MFT, and Ron Howard of MCHT.
into several distinct parcels, each with a unique purpose: • MFT sold 24 acres of open farm fields to a local farmer. This land is being protected with an agricultural conservation easement funded through the combination of local community fundraising and a federal grant. • Two wooded lots totaling 80 acres, and not suitable for active farming, now have deed restrictions that ensure the parcels cannot be subdivided, providing additional protection to the area’s rural character. • To CMLT, MFT transferred six acres, including a portion of a sugar bush known locally as the Maple Grove. This adds to CMLT’s Simonton Corner Quarry Preserve, enhancing protection of an important historic resource, while
97 Main Street, Belfast, ME 207.338.6575 mainefarmlandtrust.org
enabling continued use of the sugar bush that is tapped by local residents. • Finally, MFT sold MCHT the former auto shop on the property. Nearby Aldermere Farm, which MCHT owns and operates, will use the building for a much-needed hay storage facility. Aldermere currently cuts hay on over 20 local fields, including one of the fields protected by this project. The Spear Farm project knits together other protected properties, not only the Simonton Corner Quarry Preserve, but abutting Rokes Farm (now Dooryard Farm), which MFT and MCHT recently partnered to protect. This creates a wide swath of working lands an important part of the region’s cultural heritage, and its economic future.• 1
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