The land the board is expected to deal with contains many of the trails going up to the peak.
AUGUSTA – A land conservation entity is expected to vote to allocate money Tuesday to support preserving more land on Tumbledown Mountain.
Land for Maine’s Future Board pledged nearly $1.13 million in April to help the Department of Conservation buy about 6,753 acres of land on the southern slopes of the mountain.
It’s part of a conservation effort to preserve 33,000 acres in the Tumbledown Mountain and Mount Blue State Park areas in the Weld region. So far conservationists have raised $5.5 million in state, federal and private funding to protect more than 20,000 acres, either by buying the land outright or obtaining conservation easements covering it.
The land the board is expected to deal with Tuesday contains many of the trails going up to the peak. It’s mostly off Byron Road near Webb Lake and spreads across Avon, Phillips, Perkins Plantation, Weld and Township 6 North of Weld. The property is owned by MeadWestvaco, said state spokesman Tim Glidden.
The board is scheduled to review an appraisal of the property and hold a public hearing during its meeting, which runs from 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Pine Tree State Arboretum at 153 Hospital St. in Augusta.
Glidden said state is also waiting on federal funding from the Forest Legacy Program to help buy property. The land preservation effort could get another $1.5 million to assist the project. Earlier this month that effort looked positive.
For more information or details on the acquisition contact Glidden at 207-287-1485. Or write to him at 187 State St., State House Station No. 38, Augusta, ME 04333.
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