UPTON — Selectmen have declined to sign a letter of support for a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposal to purchase 4,091 acres of land in the area of B Brook for the Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge.

Town officials, who met with Refuge Manager Paul Casey and Tom Bourtureira of the Conservation Fund, expressed concern that too much town land is being bought up by the USFWS.

Bourtureira said the Conservation Fund had bought a larger parcel last year from Wagner Forest Management LTD, and the 4,091 acres is part of that. The purchase plan by the USFWS would be to seek funding from the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission. In order to be considered for funding in a competitive application process in April, a letter of support would be needed in January, he said.

But town officials balked, citing concerns in town over past purchases and potential ones in the future.

“A lot of people in town feel Upton is going to cease to exist in the next 25 to 30 years because we’re getting sucked up by these programs,” said Deborah Judkins, who is the town treasurer, but said she was speaking only as a resident. “We just don’t want to lose what we have as a town. There’s a deep fear that we’re going to disappear as a town.”

There is also concern about the tax impact as land gets taken off tax rolls. Upton has been losing about $2,000 annually from land acquired by the refuge that has been taken off the tax rolls, according to town officials, and would stand to lose another $2,000 if the B Brook parcel is added.

The town’s current population is approximately 65, with the annual amount of taxes collected between $170,000 and $180,000, according to town officials.

But Casey and Bourtureira said their organizations seek to mitigate that impact, and there could be benefit for Upton in the land purchase.

The letter they asked the selectmen to sign was written by Bourtureira, and it said that lost tax revenue could be mitigated through federal road improvement programs, economic development opportunities, recreational infrastructure and other foundation or community support.

An example of a federal road improvements program is a project the parties have been discussing for about a year — rebuilding a section of the East B Hill Road that accesses refuge property.

Engineering costs for the project are estimated at $25,000, with the costs shared among town, federal and state governments. In this case the federal government would pay Upton’s share, town officials said.

But regarding the proposed new land acquisition, Selectman Bob Pepler told the men, “We’d like to work with you, but with today’s political climate and the way government is handling situations of late, it’s pretty hard to trust them.”

Selectman Joe Bernier said that eight years ago, when the significant expansion of the refuge began, he attended hearings in Augusta to oppose it, “but I realized there was nothing I could do to stop the growth. As a citizen I’m not for this. As a selectmen, I don’t see it helps the town in any way.”

Selectman Wanda Hall said the timing of the request for support “is way too soon. If we saw something already happening with the road, then maybe.”

Casey agreed the timing was not ideal. “If the engineering had been done last year, it would have demonstrated something,” he said. He said work on the road project would continue with the hope to “demonstrate the town and the refuge can work together for the benefit of the town.”

Pepler said if that is accomplished, “I think that would go a long way.”

Casey said that despite the selectmen’s current position on the land proposal, “The opportunity is not necessarily going to go away.”

Casey, who lives in Upton, also addressed Judkins’ concerns about the town’s future.

He said he does not expect the town to be gone in the next two decades. “I think the town has a great future,” he said. “I think the development at the (Balsams Resort, in Dixville Notch, N.H.) is going to provide an opportunity for this town to survive. I plan to retire here.”

Bourtureira said after the meeting that the Conservation Fund is continuing timber operations on the land it has purchased, with the most recent operation last winter. He said the fund pays property taxes on land it owns and manages.

Bourtureira also added that the Conservation Fund has offered to assist Upton with economic development and seeking funding for related projects.

“That could take many forms, including marketing of the region for tourism and recreation, assistance with recreational trails development and local signage, and working with Maine DOT to improve road signage from the I-95 corridor to the Umbagog area,” he said.

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