Governor Janet Mills came to Rangeley on June 29th to join in the celebration of the joint efforts of the State of Maine, the Trust for Public Land, The Nature Conservancy, and the Bureau of Parks and Lands to permanently protect over thirteen and a half thousand acres of land that include Quill Hill and Perham Stream.

The U.S. Forest Service and the Dept. of Defense’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration program also played their part to award public funding through the Land and Water Conservation Fund Forest Legacy Program.

Financial contributions were also given by the Appalachian Trail Landscape Partnership’s Wild East Fund, the Maine Mountain Collaborative Transaction Fund, the EJK Foundation, RA Capital, and private individuals.

Representatives from several of the organizations gathered at the Rangeley Inn to reflect upon the successful fruition of their hard work.

Betsy Cook, Maine State Program Director at The Trust for Public Land started off by noting the historical significance of the area while looking towards the future.
“We’re in a landscape that I’d like to acknowledge are part of the traditional territory and of ongoing significance to the Wabanaki people. The trust for Public Land believes in connecting everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. Access to the outdoors is a fundamental human need essential to our health and well-being. The new public lands we create have the ability to connect people not just to the outdoors, but also to each other. Public lands provide space for people from all walks of life to connect and share in the joy of being outside. Relationships are the bedrock of strong, resilient communities, and public lands offer a unique place to foster these relationships. I remember a lovely fall day out on the top of Quill Hill, when a couple from Virginia who had never been to Maine before and a family from Rangeley who goes up almost every weekend to the top of Quill Hill, were sharing together in the joy and the beauty of the mountain landscape.
Outdoor spaces like Quill Hill and Perham Stream can connect people from different backgrounds on literal common ground.
The rate at which people have been turning to the outdoors in the past few years underscores how important they feel public lands are for connection and well-being. 20/21 was the highest-ranking year for Maine State Park visitation, with more than 3.3 million people visiting our state public lands and 2022 was a close second. Yet we don’t have enough outdoor protected places to meet this need. Western Maine, as you all know, is home to some of the state’s tallest mountains, clear lakes and rivers, trails and expansive forests, and only 15% of the region is protected for public benefit. The Trust for public land and our partners are committed to creating more places like Quill Hill to Perham Stream to fill this need, to bring us outside, to connect us to the woods and to connect us to each other.

But it’s not just the land that is the basis for connection. The act of creating new public lands can also strengthen communities. The Quill Hill to Perham Stream effort has been a true example of that. Through the wonderful confluence of partners and the collective work we all here did together. As we go through the day, you will hear from individuals and organizations who have a shared vision rolled up our sleeves with openness and collaboration, and got the work done.”

Kate Dempsey, State Director of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and member of Governor Mill’s Climate Council spoke regarding the importance and benefits of collaboration.

“The power of joining is so incredibly important right now. We think at The Nature Conservancy a lot about joining landscapes, as we’ve done here to connected habitat and resilient lands and water.

This is even more important in the face of climate change, which is why our climate plan does prioritize keeping working lands as a significant part of our state.
At TNC, we also believe in continuity of purpose. So, I want to with a little bit of emotion, want to point out that one of our awesome colleagues, the Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust, completed the first Forest Legacy easement in the country right here 30 years ago.

I just, it’s amazing to me, and I want to thank Dick Spencer who somewhere out there and the late Ed Kfoury, who is a board member of ours and a dear, dear friend.

So, we’re working together and working in concert with so many partners and there are thousands to mention, but we really, really are so appreciative of the letters and support we’ve heard from those of you who live close to here.

And we all know that landowners are what make this work possible.

So, I want to give my particular thanks to Wagner Forest management and to the Brochu family for thinking well into the future, just like our friends did 30 years ago.

After Governor Mills was introduced, she proceeded to thank members of the public as well as the representatives from the collaborative groups that helped to reach this level of conservation.

“The largest conservation project completed by my administration. This extraordinary collaborative project preserves more than 13,000 acres of publicly accessible land in the center of Maines High Peak region. I’ve climbed a few of those peaks myself.”

She continued by thanking those whose actions work to protect Maine’s economic and environmental future.

“Thanks to the Brochu family and Wagner Forest Management who conveyed the easement and ownership to the state, the Quill Hill to Perham Stream project will preserve over 8600 acres of working timberland, an important part of our forest products economy.

Managed sustainably as the Brochu family does, these working forests will supply critical logs, pulp and fiber to Maine’s mills, while also sequestering carbon and protecting our environment at the same time.

I’m grateful to private landowners like you (motioning toward the Brochu family) across the state of Maine, who have proven your commitment to our future. Thank you.

In addition to preserving working timberland, the Quill Hill with Perham Stream project will protect outdoor recreation of all sorts. Opportunities exist in the Rangeley region for which we’re known here. Including 400 miles of ATV trails, 40 miles of mountain bike trails, the 65-mile Maine Huts & Trails system, long sections of the ITS snowmobile network, 32 miles of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, miles of hiking trails and logging roads and scenic sections of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail. Not to mention nearby Saddleback Ski area, the Quill Hill and Perham Stream project will also conserve important wildlife habitat for some iconic species here in Maine, including moose and black bear and several species that are, well, particularly vulnerable to changing climate- brook trout, Atlantic salmon, Bicknell’s Thrush and Canada lynx.

The mountain tops and foothills, cold water streams and intact wetlands of Western Maine will now be protected in perpetuity.

Besides sharing that Rangeley was one of her most favorite places to enjoy lupine, she also spoke of her fondness for Quill Hill.

“I have been up to the top of Quill Hill, and I just love and enjoy the view so much. It’s an incredible unique site. “

Members of the Brochu family were present to receive thanks for continuing the generosity of the late Adrian Brochu in helping to preserve Quill Hill in perpetuity so that generations will continue to enjoy the 360-degree views that has become a year-round must see, just a short drive from downtown Rangeley.

The property will still be owned by the Brochu family and available for timber harvest but will be permanently protected as a part of an easement held by the U.S. Navy and the State of Maine.

Tabitha Andrews, daughter of Adrian Brochu spoke on behalf of the family.

“Our family history with Quill goes back a long way. Our grandfather built the first mile of the road in the late 60’S and then Dad used to hunt up there with his father and his brothers.

So one hunting trip, (so Dad said), took them to the top of the Quill Hill and the view blew him away that day. He never forgot it. He talked about it all the time.

So fast forward 50 years and Dad has got to retire. (She said jokingly.) Like it’s time. So, Dad has to retire. Quill started as his retirement project, and everybody was relieved. No one wanted retired dad hanging around the house all day, especially our mom. She will attest to that. (She laughed).

Dad quickly became obsessed. He spent every summer up there until he died: moving rocks, fixing the road, constantly talking to everybody who came up there while he was there. Quill was definitely dad’s happy place.

So, when I was prepping for this, I thought reading through old guestbooks would help. So, I grabbed the very first one from 2013. There were exactly 228 pages of comments that year.

Visitors hailed from seventeen states, Canada and France. You only have to flip to page 2 before you start to see comments like. ‘Please don’t develop this.’ or ‘Please don’t close this to ATVs and snowmobiles.’ Another common one, ‘Thank you for making this accessible.’

So, 10 years later, we still keep the guestbooks. 10 years later, we’ve had entries from every single state and people have come from all over the world.

We’ve seen Australia in that book, Denmark, Ukraine, Germany, Italy, many more.

So, Quill has become a special place for so many people. Dad knew this. And I think he was really proud of what he created, and we were proud of him. He had a vision and he made it happen.

We’re equally proud of our mom. I kind of would like her to stand if she wouldn’t mind. I mean, Mom in theory could have pulled the plug on this anytime. (More laughter).

At this point, and she was as committed as Dad, she loved Quill Hill as much as Dad, so you know, thanks, Mom. We’re glad, we’re glad you were in on it.

Dad made it clear to us, when he was sick, that he wanted Quill to be open and accessible forever and so I think we can check that off and done.

You guys, everybody here helped and just thank you.

We thank everybody here. It’s been a pleasure working with all of you and if you haven’t been up to Quill Hill recently, go. There’s new signage. We just had it cleaned up. It looks really, really lovely right now.”

The U.S. Navy now also holds an easement on Mt. Abraham’s Perham Stream totaling 6,578 acres that is owned by the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands.

An ideal location for realistic training, the Navy’s Survival Evasion Resistance and Escape (SERE) school will continue to make use of these thousands of acres of Quill Hill and Perham Stream wilderness that they intend to make use of for many years to come.

Robert Lueckel, Deputy Regional Forester from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Forest Service concluded the event with the news that these the Quill Hill and Perham Stream projects have pushed Forest Legacy conservation efforts up and over its 3-million-acre mark, 750,000 of which are in Maine. Definitely worth celebrating.

Copy the Story Link

Comments are not available on this story.