The recent news coverage about the protection of important lands around Mount Blue State Park underscore the importance of federal Forest Legacy funding to the success of the Tumbledown/Mount Blue Conservation Project. Those who live in the Weld region are well aware of the unprecedented, rapid sale of productive timber parcels that has occurred here over the past four years. The stability that Forest Legacy funding has provided to the land base next to the Park cannot be overstated.

Without funds from the Forest Legacy Program to supplement Land for Maine’s Future funds and the generosity of private donors, these valuable lands next to the park would never have been protected. They would have been removed from forest resource uses, broken up into smaller parcels for development purposes, and lost to future generations. Now, they will be managed in perpetuity as conservation lands, providing important wildlife habitat as well as opportunities for low-impact recreation and a critical buffer area around Mount Blue State Park.

Our congressional delegation deserves high praise for its unwavering support for the Tumbledown/Mount Blue Conservation Project. Sen. Olympia Snowe and Sen. Susan Collins have been particularly resourceful in finding ways to find funding for the project. Our region is fortunate that both senators have recognized the importance of federal support for this project. We look to them to continue to provide the leadership necessary to obtain additional Forest Legacy funds to protect lands in the Tumbledown Mountain Range.

Pamela Prodan, Wilton

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