Caring for the Land
We manage and care for lands to give people incredible experiences on the Maine coast and protect native plants and animals.
How do we keep nesting seabirds safe on preserves open to the public? What’s the most efficient way to bring dozens of boulders miles into the woods to build a staircase to the shore? What does the local community cherish about this place?
These are some of the many questions Maine Coast Heritage Trust land stewards ask and answer while caring for the thousands of acres of land MCHT owns and manages in perpetuity—including more than 140 preserves open to the public.
MCHT preserves range from downtown greenspaces where people grow vegetables to remote islands to large preserves with miles of trail. We manage these places to balance the needs of people, plants, animals, and the incredible ecosystems supporting life on the Maine coast.
When we conserve land, it’s forever. Protecting more land and opening it to the public requires increasing effort and resources—and a dedicated team of MCHT staff, work crews, and volunteers. Interested in becoming a volunteer steward?
MCHT land stewards also:
- build and maintain trails, campsites, and kiosks
- learn about and hold on to what’s special about a place and how people in the surrounding community use it
- help native plants and animals thrive
- manage blueberry fields
- control invasive plants on conserved lands
- steward almost 300 conservation easements from Kittery to Robbinston
- run youth agricultural programming
- manage a world-class herd of Belted Galloway cattle
- conduct natural resource inventories
- collect histories of conserved lands and share them with the public
- bring people on mushroom walks, kayaking expeditions, dark sky astronomy gatherings…
(And this isn’t the half of it.)
Want to help care for coastal land and islands?
- Contact the Stewardship department via email or give us a call at 207-729-7366
- We invite you to get involved!
- Volunteer with MCHT