RANGELEY – The Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust acquired Hunter Cove Sanctuary from Maine Audubon last week.

Robert Savage, property management director for Maine Audubon, said in a recent interview that the strategic planning for the organization in 1990 led to the transfer of the land.

Maine Audubon, traditionally seen as a conservation organization, changed its mission slightly to focus its property use toward education and wildlife advocacy. This new focus changed the organization’s land stewardship criteria to target properties near high population centers or those that attract a substantial number of visitors. The centers serve as education centers and preserve areas that serve to “strengthen people’s connection to nature,” Savage said.

The 95 acres on the shore of Rangeley Lake was also difficult for Savage to manage from his base in Falmouth.

“It was difficult for me to manage the property to the standards with which I am comfortable from such a long distance,” he said.

The trust and volunteers from Trails for the Rangeley Area Coalition have been helpful in maintaining the property over the past five years. The coalition frequently mowed the parking area and the trust provided Savage with trail reports on occasion, said Shelby Rousseau, natural resource steward for the trust.

The land was originally donated to Maine Audubon by the Louttit family in the mid-1970s. A year of negotiating the details of the deed culminated July 20, when the property was officially transferred to the trust.

This is the fourth property divested by Audubon since the 1980s, according to Savage. Appalachee Sanctuary in Boothbay Harbor, the Davies Property on Peaks Island, and Cow Island in the Androscoggin River in Brunswick were previously transferred to other land trusts.

“It’s a spectacular piece of property,” Rousseau said of the preserve in a recent interview. “A real gem for us.”

The trust plans to maintain the property for traditional nonmotorized outdoor recreation – wildlife viewing, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. It is using it also for its EcoVenture environmental day camp.

“I was really pleased to find people who I feel will be excellent land stewards,” Savage said. “I know it will be in very good hands.”

Copy the Story Link