BANGOR (AP) – A $35 million fund-raising campaign has been completed that provides permanent public protection to 329,000 acres in the heart of Maine’s North Woods.

The Forest Society of Maine said Monday it will now focus on managing the land’s endowment fund and making sure the property is properly maintained.

The campaign has already resulted in the acquisition of 47,000 acres of land along with a conservation easement on 282,000 acres.

The West Branch Project keeps the lands undeveloped, preserves wildlife habitat and guarantees public access for camping, canoeing, hunting, fishing and other traditional activities.

The landowner retains the right to cut trees, but the easement guarantees that only sustainable forestry practices will be used.

The campaign is particularly important given that nearly 7 million acres of Maine forest land have been sold in the past six years, said Alan Hutchinson, executive director of the Forest Society of Maine.

“Today’s announcement celebrates a vision begun four years ago – a vision shared by conservationists, business owners, outdoor recreationists and civic leaders from the Moosehead region and throughout our state,” Hutchinson said.

The West Branch Program was launched five years ago and encompasses the largest contiguous tract of undeveloped forest in Maine ever granted permanent protection.

The land, which was owned for more than a century by Great Northern Paper Co., stretches from the northwest shore of Moosehead Lake up the West Branch of the Penobscot River to the Quebec border, then north to the headwaters of the St. John River. It is now owned by Wagner Forest Management, based in Lyme, N.H.

The U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Legacy program contributed $19.7 million to the campaign to make the acquisitions possible last January, with the Forest Society raising the remainder.

The nonprofit organization still had to come up with an additional $2 million, which it has now done.