Home → Governor Mills Announces 12 New Land for Maine’s Future Projects

Projects Include Historic Conservation of Deer Wintering Habitat at Reed Deadwater

Governor Janet Mills today announced 12 Land for Maine’s Future conservation projects across the State of Maine which will protect working lands and wildlife habitat and preserve public access to lakes, rivers, scenic views, and mountain vistas. The projects include Reed Deadwater, the state’s largest conservation project to protect deer wintering habitat to date.

“As an avid sportswoman myself, I always look forward to announcing new Land for Maine’s Future Projects that conserve our lands for the public, but today is a special day,” said Governor Janet Mills. “Today, we mark the state’s largest conservation project to protect deer wintering habitat, which will help restore this once iconic species in Northern Maine and renew the hope of sportsmen and women across our state.”

"The Reed Deadwater Project is unique for both its size and scope. With over 3,000 acres of historic deer wintering habitat, this deer yard will provide critical winter cover for an array of important wildlife in Maine," said Commissioner of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Judy Camuso. "At a time when more and more people are outside, conserving such a large parcel of unfragmented forestland has incredible benefits for both the people of Maine and our wildlife."

With today's announcement, the LMF Board has approved 37 new projects since the Governor proposed and the Maine Legislature overwhelmingly approved $40 million to reinvigorate the LMF program through the biennial budget.

Of the 12 projects announced today, three projects will preserve working farmland, four projects will preserve working waterfronts, and five projects will preserve working forests.

The projects, which total $7.7 million and are expected to leverage an additional $24 million in private and federal funds, are:

"Access to Maine's working waterfront continues to face development pressure that can undermine our state's vital commercial fishing and aquaculture industries," said LMF Board Chair and Commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources Patrick Keliher. "Thanks to Governor Mills' support for Maine's valuable heritage industries, important infrastructure that is so necessary for a strong and resilient coastal economy has been preserved and protected."

"It's an exciting day to be moving three farm projects forward based on the due diligence and recommendations of LMF's Working Farmland Access Protection Program committee," said Commissioner of the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Amanda Beal "These farms are all located in areas of the state experiencing growing development pressure. Likewise, having the opportunity to protect such significant working forests and recreational lands will continue to benefit our state and local communities in numerous ways now and for generations to come."

The Land for Maine's Future Program is the State of Maine's primary method of conserving land for its natural and recreational value. The program was established in 1987 when Maine citizens approved a $35 million bond to fund the purchase of land and easements. The program's priority is to conserve the Maine landscape, recognizing that working lands and public access to these lands are critical to preserving Maine's quality of life.

Since then, LMF has conserved over 610,000 acres of land, including 333,425 acres of working lands. This work includes 70 water access sites with over 67 miles of shoreline on rivers, lakes, and ponds, 41 farms and 9,884 acres of protected farmlands, 30 working waterfront properties, 158 miles of former railroad corridors for recreational trails and over 69 miles of coastal access.

More information can be found on the Land for Maine Future program website.

Governor Janet Mills 1 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333 207-287-3531