A state official says timber harvesting will be limited in the area because of the value of the land.
By Terry Karkos
Staff Writer

RILEY TOWNSHIP – Frenchman’s Hole, a popular natural swimming pool in western Maine, is about to be purchased.

The picturesque spot, complete with its own waterfall, and 385 acres of abutting forest land between Bull Branch Brook and Sunday River is located seven miles northwest of Sunday River Ski Resort.

Pending the outcome of negotiations and a Land for Maine’s Future Program Board vote on Thursday, Sept. 25, in Augusta, the prime real estate could soon be owned by the Maine Department of Conservation.

“We’re darn close to buying it,” said LMF staff Director Tim Glidden. “We’re very confident that this deal is imminent. The landowner has been very patient in working it through.”

For nearly five decades Frenchman’s Hole and its surrounding acres have been in the Newton family.

Glidden said the DOC was aware that the property, which is owned by Roy Newton of Gorham, N.H., had been on the market “for quite a while.” He estimated the sale price, which has yet to be finalized, as being between $300,000 and $400,000.

“We’re in it for $200,000 plus. Once we said we would put up a few hundred thousand dollars, the DOC shouldered in. They’re providing matching funds and we’ll fund up to two-thirds of it,” Glidden added.

The Mahoosuc Land Trust, which seeks to protect and conserve the property, has also agreed to raise $35,000 toward the state’s match, said MLT Director Marcel Polak.

Polak owns Spruce Mountain, a real estate company in Woodstock that specializes in conservation real estate and conservation consulting. Polak and his firm was hired by the DOC’s Bureau of Parks and Lands, to write a proposal to the Land for Maine’s Future Program for funding and to oversee LMF’s subsequent appraisal of the property this past spring.

Last fall, the DOC filed an application to buy the property outright rather than to secure an easement, Glidden added.

“It makes more sense to buy it whole, because it has so much public use and it’s next to existing public lands. It has a lot of important water frontage – 4,200 feet on the Sunday River and a mile and a third on Bull Branch Brook where the Hole is,” Glidden said.

Because of the land’s high aesthetic and recreational value, timber harvesting will be quite limited, he added.

“It’s the DOC’s intention to maintain public access and manage it principally for recreational use. That recreational value is what’s moving this deal. It is nice upland hardwoods habitat and it will still be open for hunting,” Glidden said.

After adopting the project as a finalist for funding, he said the next step was to allocate funds to support DOC’s pending purchase.

“The Frenchman’s Hole project is an example of the kind of thing that Land for Maine’s Future likes to fund because its protection and conservation angle is important to tourism in the Bethel area. And, it creates a buffer against development pressures,” Glidden said.

Public comment on the acquisition will be accepted at the Land for Maine’s Future Board meeting from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sept. 25 at the Pine Tree State Arboretum at 153 Hospital St. in Augusta.

“We don’t expect any concerns to be raised, but the board always wants to know concerns – both pro and con – from the public,” he added.

For more information, call Glidden at 287-1485.

Land for Maine’s Future Program coordinates and finances acquisition of public lands for conservation, water access, outdoor recreation, wildlife and fish habitat and farmland conservation for Maine agencies and local partners.

The program, which is assigned by statute to the State Planning Office, was established in 1987 when Maine citizens voted to fund a $35 million bond to purchase lands of statewide importance.

It was followed by a supplemental appropriation of $3 million in general funds in 1998 and a second public bond of $50 million in 1999.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

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