A PARTNERSHIP APPROACH TO FORESTLAND CONSERVATION IN KENNEBEC COUNTY, MAINE

GrowSmart Maine Summit October 23, 2012

KENNEBEC LAND TRUST 2009 LYCEUM

Forest Stewardship in Maine, New England, and the World:

Conserving Forestland for the Next Generation

Co-sponsored by the Maine Forest Service

  Wayne, Maine, overlooking Great Androscoggin Pond

Painting by Mary Stanton House, 1851

Original Painting owned by the Town of Leeds

Same view, 2012

KLT 1988 - 2012 24 Years 800 member families CONSERVED LANDS 4,550 acres = 1.0% of acreage in service area

Of KLT’s 4,550 acres conserved, ~ 2,500 acres Ecological Reserves

25 conservation easements

1,554 acres

34 fee-owned properties

2857 acres

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Inventory Year

Open Water 7% 8% 7% 8% 8%

Development 16% 11% 17% 20% 20%

Agricultural 36% 12% 11% 9% 10%

All Forestland 41% 70% 65% 63% 62%

1930 1982 1995 2003 2009

KENNEBEC WOODLAND PARTNERSHIP

The Kennebec Woodland Partnership was formed from an awareness that Kennebec County’s local economy, wood products markets, recreational opportunities, wildlife habitat, water quality, and quality of life all depend largely on the county’s approximately 374,000 acres of woodland.

KENNEBEC WOODLAND PARTNERS

Thirteen and Counting

Kennebec Land Trust

Kennebec County Soil and Water

Conservation District

KENNEBEC WOODLAND PARTNERSHIP

MISSION

The Kennebec Woodland Partnership promotes forest

stewardship and conservation, provides educational resources for

woodland owners, and supports sustainable natural

resource-based economies.

KEY PRINCIPLESVoluntary  

Mutually beneficial   Multiple pathways of

progress Personal focus

Diversify De-mystify   Facilitate  

Mediate

KWP Innovations

Landscape Approaches to Conservation

• Your Woodland resource guide and website

• Stewardship Storyline• Kennebec Woodland Days• Local wood and ecological reserve

research• Bond Brook Recreation Area project• Kennebec Woodland Owners Survey

•

Your Woodland Resource Guide

Stewardship StorylineWhat do I call that land I own

that has trees on it?

Why is my woodland

important to me?

What do I want to do with my woodland?

How can I keep my woodland

healthy?

Why would I harvest trees

on my property?

Where can I get good advice

about what to do with my woodland?

What would a forest management

plan do for me?

What will happen to my

woodland when I’m gone?

Why might I want to consider a conservation

easement for my woodland?

What are the financial aspects

of owning a woodland?

Maine Forest Service-KWP Website

COLLABORATION KWP, University of Maine, Augusta, Bond Brook Recreation

Area, Augusta City of Augusta

KENNEBEC LAND TRUST Curtis Homestead

Sustainable Forestry Education Program

2009-2012

LOCAL WOOD AND ECOLOGICAL RESERVES

RESEARCHMaine Forest Service and Kennebec

Land Trust

KLT Intern, Amanda Lavigueur, Colby College

• What are the wood resources in Kennebec County?

• Can we sustainably harvest more wood from Kennebec County’s forests, and simultaneously protect more forestlands as Reserves?

• Of the harvest in Kennebec County, how much is

processed in the county and how much is exported out of the county?

• What do we know about family forest landowner attitudes?

KENNEBEC WOODLAND OWNERS’ SURVEY

“I know whom to contact to get information about my woodland”

44% agree

“I have all the knowledge that I need to make decisions about my woodland”33% agree

Questions? Contact a Partner.

Kennebec Woodland Partnershipmaineforestservice.gov/kennebecwoodlands

Photographers: Pam Bell, Alanna Cole, Deb Dutton, Sarah

Fuller, Marc Loiselle, Theresa Kerchner, Jym St. Pierre, Tom Sears