The money would help to preserve land around Tumbledown Mountain’s base.
TOWNSHIP 6 NORTH OF WELD – Conservationists received good news Friday. An additional $1.5 million is nearly theirs to continue negotiations to preserve land around the base of Tumbledown Mountain.
Public access has already been conserved at the summit through land acquisition and conservation easements. Land preservationists have protected 20,000 acres in the Tumbledown and Mount Blue State Park region over the last few years. They’ve set a goal of preserving 33,000 acres for the public.
Maine Reps. Tom Allen and Mike Michaud announced Friday in a release that the appropriations bill for the Interior Department, which passed its final vote Thursday night in the House, includes $11.267 million in funding for specific projects in Maine.
A final vote in the Senate is slated for Monday. The bill would then go to President George Bush to be signed.
The Forest Legacy program includes $2 million for the Machias River Project and $1.5 million for the Tumbledown/Mount Blue project, two of the state’s highest priority conservation initiatives, the release stated.
The bill also contains $750,000 for land acquisition at the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge in York County and $7 million for construction and rehabilitation of facilities at Acadia National Park.
“It’s pretty close to a done deal,” said Matt Robinson, Michaud’s deputy chief of staff.
The bill the Senate will vote on Monday is a compromise package that is expected to pass, he said.
“We’re very pleased with this amount,” said Erin Rowland of Trust for Public Lands. “It’s a real competitive climate.”
Conservationists had requested $3 million for Tumbledown Mountain.
The group had raised $5.5 million from state, federal and private funding to protect the land from being closed to the public. Nearly $3 million in legacy funds is included in the $5.5 million.
Once the Forest Legacy money is finalized, Rowland said, conservationists could continue to secure land at the base of Tumbledown to preserve trails to the summit.
Among the already protected property is about 3,900 acres that includes the tops of Tumbledown and Little Jackson mountains, Tumbledown Pond and Stockbridge Branch Valley.
In July, Rowland announced that nearly 4,200 acres adjacent to Mount Blue State Park had been permanently secured by conservation easements.
dperry@sunjournal.com
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