BRUNSWICK (AP) – A deal between The Nature Conservancy and a logging contractor will preserve nearly 10,000 acres in Hancock County, including land along two rivers that provide prime habitat for endangered Atlantic salmon.

The $2.2 million deal, finalized last Thursday, stems from a purchase-and-sales agreement signed by The Nature Conservancy and H.C. Haynes Inc. of Winn in 2003 that included a two-year option to buy the land.

The property, known as the Spring River Block, abuts state-owned property and creates a 24,000-acre swath of conservation land in a remote section Hancock County northeast of Ellsworth. The parcel includes 12 miles along the Spring River and the west branch of the Narraguagus River.

As part of the purchase-and-sales agreement, H.C. Haynes agreed to observe specific conservation measures in the period before the deal was finalized.

That agreement helped mitigate the impact of timber harvesting over the past two years, particularly in a buffer along the rivers, said Mike Tetreault, executive director of The Nature Conservancy.

“Those are areas which provide key Atlantic salmon spawning and rearing habitat,” he said.

Marvin Moriarty, northeast regional director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the acquisition will help in the recovery of the Atlantic salmon.

A 325-page federal recovery plan for the species was released this month laying out a strategy to restore salmon runs from the Kennebec River to the Canadian border. The report came out five years after salmon were declared endangered on eight Maine rivers, including the Narraguagus.

“Protecting these natural resources is a successful step in our collective efforts to recover the species,” Moriarty said.