Stellar Year for Coastal Land Protection
In 2011, Maine Coast Heritage Trust enjoyed another stellar year of coastal land protection. Highlighting the year were over 40 land conservation projects totaling more than 2,000 acres, nearly 15 miles of coastline, and ten coastal islands.
"It has been a remarkable year and a particularly busy December," said MCHT's President Tim Glidden, who started with MCHT this year. "We are grateful to all of the landowners who showed vision and generosity in conserving their properties for future generations, and to our invaluable partners at public agencies and local land trusts throughout the state."
2011 was a year in which MCHT played an integral role in helping to expand protection of existing public parks, providing welcome support to public agencies trying to make ends meet. At the local level, MCHT offered financial assistance and technical expertise in facilitating the City of Biddeford's successful effort to expand its beloved Clifford Park. Further down the coast in Lubec, the Trust helped to permanently protect a valuable access point for local clammers and fishermen.
Partnering with Department of Interior agencies, MCHT strengthened recreational opportunities at Acadia National Park and expanded seabird nesting islands within the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge. On Mount Desert Island, the Trust conserved two tracts along Lower Hadlock Pond and Round Pond that will ultimately be conveyed to Acadia National Park. At the same time, MCHT transferred to the Fish and Wildlife Service North Twinnie and Sally Island, two islands that provide essential habitat for a variety of coastal birds.
In 2011, MCHT also worked with the Maine Departments of Conservation and Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to enhance existing state-owned public lands in the mid-coast. In January, the Trust provided strategic funding to help add critical parcels to Camden Hills State Park. 
By late August, MCHT had closed on Treat Point, a scenic peninsula in Frankfort that will soon be added to an existing Wildlife Management Area.
Local State Senator Christopher Rector of Knox County commented, "As a longtime supporter of voluntary land conservation, I welcome the additions to Camden Hills State Park, a vital asset to the communities I serve. This is a wonderful example of how effective private and public partnerships can be, even in tough economic times."
During 2011, MCHT also acquired a number of new preserves and made significant additions to existing ones. In June, the Trust announced the creation of the Kitteredge Brook Forest Preserve, 
a wildlife-rich, 516-acre forest and wetland oasis in the heart of Mount Desert Island. MCHT also added a number of small island preserves, including Green Island, a seabird nesting area in Toothacher Bay, and Battle Island, a popular picnic area for paddlers in the Bagaduce River.
Highlighting additions to existing MCHT preserves was the donation of Rich's Head, a scenic promontory on Frenchboro Long Island. The Trust also added key parcels to two preserves in Washington County protected in recent years with help from the State's Land for Maine's Future program: Bog Brook Cove and Sipp Bay.
Culminating a year of fruitful partnerships, the Trust played a key role in the first successful steps toward conservation of spectacular landholdings adjacent to Acadia National Park on the Schoodic Peninsula. MCHT plans to work closely with the new landowner, Friends of Acadia, the Park Service, and other local interests to ensure these lands not only strengthen the Park, but the surrounding communities as well.
