BETHEL/SEBAGO — Mahoosuc Land Trust (MLT) is the newest partner in Sebago Clean Waters (SCW)—nine conservation organizations working with the Portland Water District (PWD) to protect water quality, community well-being, a vibrant economy, and fish and wildlife habitat in the Sebago region through voluntary forestland conservation. SCW’s goal is to protect 25 percent (35,000 more acres) of the Sebago Lake watershed in the next 15 years.

In addition to direct local benefits, MLT’s forestland conservation at the headwaters of the Sebago Lake watershed positively impacts the one out of every six Mainers (more than 200,000 people) whose water comes from Sebago Lake. The lake is so pure that it is one of only 50 public surface water supplies in the country that requires no filtration before treatment. PWD has documented that there would be a huge increase in the cost of drinking water from Sebago Lake if too much of the woods are cut down and can no longer clean the water naturally as all forests do.

“Forests filter water naturally, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” says Paul Hunt, PWD’s Environmental Services Manager. “Conserved forests do this forever while also offering wildlife and fisheries habitat, trails, and woods jobs. So the work of SCW will provide a permanent, natural water treatment plant we can all hike on.”

MLT’s interest in SCW is inspired by the land trust’s Crooked River Focus Area, one of four focus areas in its two-state Mahoosuc region service area. The Crooked River is Sebago Lake’s largest tributary and, in addition to providing clean drinking water, supplies the key spawning and nursery grounds that produce almost all of the landlocked salmon that inhabit Sebago Lake. The Crooked River begins at Songo Pond then merges with the Songo River before emptying into Sebago Lake. SCW research shows that an intact watershed will be key in offering habitat for climate-sensitive species under projected temperature changes. The watershed also provides a superior opportunity to support climate change mitigation by protecting carbon stores.

MLT sees the project as an educational opportunity. “It sometimes takes a minute, but people start to see the broader impact of how we care for our forests locally,” says the land trust’s Executive Director, Kirk Siegel. He says that both SCW and MLT have mapping tools that identify those lands best able to protect water quality and offer other public benefits. MLT, and other land trusts in the SCW collaborative, work with willing landowners on a variety of strategies, including outright donations and in some cases purchases of land.

MLT’s work in the watershed is not new. In 2013, Bob O’Brien and Michaela Casey donated a conservation easement on their 156-acre Flint Farm property in Albany, with PWD providing funding for transaction costs. MLT has held a conservation easement on Songo Pond since 1995, and is in discussions with other landowners.

Mahoosuc Land Trust is a nationally accredited land trust founded in 1989. It operates in both western Maine and northern New Hampshire and has conserved 9,500 acres of land through conservation easements and preserve lands owned by the trust. To learn more, visit www.mahoosuc.org and www.sebagocleanwaters.org

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