RANGELEY – In its 25th anniversary year, the Rangeley Lakes Region Logging Museum has received a gift for its future. Luke, Adrian and Guy Brochu, owners of Pleasant River Lumber in Dover-Foxcroft, recently donated 61 acres of land to the museum.

The forested land abuts the museum and includes 1,500 feet of shore front on Haley Pond.

“We’re grateful for the opportunity to participate with the museum in their continued effort to educate the public about logging. The land donation is a token of our appreciation for all the efforts made by the members of the museum,” said Luke Brochu, speaking for himself and his brothers.

For the Brochu brothers, the third of four generations of woodsmen in their family, the culture of the timber industry, past and future, is key. Their grandfather, a subsistence farmer, was the first logger among them, and now their sons and nephews, Chris and Jason Brochu, run the operations at the Dover-Foxcroft sawmill.

The industry represents 20 percent of Maine’s domestic products, Luke Brochu said, and provides more than 100,000 direct and indirect jobs for Mainers.

“The heritage and culture of the industry must be maintained,” he said, “to preserve our Maine communities at large. It’s who we are, and if we lose that, we re going to lose a piece of Maine that we’ll never be able to get back again.”

They are former part-owners of Stratton Lumber. The brothers are clearing land for another spruce dimension mill, this time in Enfield. When that mill goes into operation in January of 2007, the two mills will produce 200,000,000 board feet of lumber a year.

Although the museum board has not yet made formal plans for the new land, discussions circle around picnic spots and walking trails to educate the public about the trees of the forest, how they can be cared for and harvested responsibly.

“We have a responsibility to be stewards of our natural resources,” Luke Brochu said, “and not only for our generation but for generations to come. And I’m happy to be in a position where I’ve been able to be a part of all that.”

The public is invited to visit the museum, on Route 16 a mile east of Rangeley, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays or by appointment by calling 864-5595.