MASON TOWNSHIP – Serena Williams and Sam Hodder were thrilled on Wednesday afternoon.

Williams, of Mason Township, just learned that the petition she started in spring 2006 to preserve 664 acres of forest at the end of her road had paid off big-time.

On Tuesday night, Congress approved $541,000 to help the White Mountain National Forest buy the parcel from Trust for Public Lands – Maine.

“Wow! That’s wonderful,” Williams said in a telephone interview. “Mason Township is proud to be in the forefront of land conservation.”

Knowing how long it takes Congress to act on budgets, Hodder, the trust’s Mahoosuc project manager, said the trust bought the property last December from Lloyd Poland. Poland wanted to subdivide it and create camping sites.

“This is the way government is supposed to work and it all began with the citizens of Mason Township,” Hodder said by phone from Portland.

Williams and Hodder also were tickled to learn that the much larger Forest Legacy Program project in nearby Newry is expected to receive federal money, too. That involves a 3,500-acre Stowe Mountain parcel.

All that’s lacking to cement the funds is President George W. Bush’s signature on the omnibus appropriations bill that was OK’d Tuesday night by Congress.

“The bill is on the president’s desk for a signature. All bets are that he will sign it, today, tomorrow or by the end of the week,” said Kathryn Conant, U.S. Forest Service Forest Legacy Program manager.

“It’s potentially fantastic news. I’m thrilled at the possibilities. This is a huge testament to how hard Maine’s congressional delegation worked,” Hodder said.

The Newry land includes most of the alpine summit of 3,300-foot Sunday River Whitecap Mountain and the summits of Stowe and Bald mountains. A least four miles of the Grafton Loop Trail traverses the summits.

Maine’s Bureau of Public Lands asked the Forest Legacy Program for $1.125 million to buy the Stowe parcel, which the trust has under agreement to buy. It is adjacent to the 3,688-acre Grafton Notch parcel, which was protected in September with $2 million from the program.

In the appropriations bill, Congress gave an additional pot of money – $7.775 million – to the U.S. Forest Service to use at its discretion for priority forest service projects, Conant said.

“It’s very likely that we’d be funding the Stow-Grafton parcel,” she added.

“If funded, this will be the second major acquisition in Grafton Notch … and we look forward to even more in future years,” Maine BPL Deputy Director Alan Stearns said by phone from East Millinockett.

The Mason Township parcel will preserve public access to Haystack Notch and Miles Notch trailheads within the Caribou-Speckled Mountains Wilderness.

It will also protect prime wood turtle habitat at a time when the reptiles are declining throughout their range. Maine, which hosts some of the largest populations of wood turtles in the country, lists it as a species of special concern, Hodder said.

“Senator Collins sought funding for this project, because she supports the goal of preserving the Haystack Notch trailhead to ensure unfettered access to miles of trails over some of Maine’s most pristine wilderness areas,” Collins spokeswoman Jen Burita stated in an e-mail.

“It’s absolutely wonderful to be able to preserve it for future generations to use. Land development is taking off in the state of Maine and it’s nice to hear that some parcels will be preserved,” Williams added.