What if there was a large landscape in northern New England where animals could migrate in a warming climate? Where development was prohibited but sustainable forestry was still allowed? Where outdoor recreation could continue alongside land set aside for wilderness?
That’s the goal of the Magalloway Conservation Initiative. It's an ambitious effort to conserve nearly 80,000 acres in historic Wabanaki territory. For centuries, these have been prized hunting and fishing grounds, home to bear, lynx, deer and moose and one of the last strongholds of native brook trout in the country.
But with a recent construction boom, forest fragmentation and rising temperatures, the woods and wildlife are under threat. Four organizations — The Nature Conservancy, Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust, Forest Society of Maine and Northeast Wilderness Trust — are now working to safeguard both while also protecting public access to the region. The groups have until the end of May to raise $62 million to conserve the property.
Right now, they're a little over halfway to the goal. But if they're successful, they'll have secured the final parcel on a remote and wild landscape of more than half a million connected acres that have previously been conserved.
"The area really speaks for itself," says angler and fishing guide Alex Caisse as he navigates his pickup truck along logging roads in the woods of remote western Maine, not far from the northern New Hampshire border. "It's something that's uniquely special in the way it looks and the way that it feels."
It’s mid-October, moose hunting season. The leaves have turned orange and gold, but Caisse still has fishing on his mind. For two decades he worked in the restaurant business and then, about 13 years ago, he became a fishing guide. He moved to Rangeley in part, he says, because of the cold, swift-moving waters of the Magalloway River. That’s how much he loves this place and why he’s passionate about keeping it intact.
“When you come here, you lose sight of all the other things that are going on in the world and you focus more on the moment,” Caisse says. “You don’t focus on tomorrow. You don’t focus on yesterday. And so oftentimes, I think it is like church out here because it’s just so peaceful.”
The project includes woodlands, 170 miles of rivers and streams and more than 2,400 acres of lakes and wetlands.
As part of the Appalachian Mountain range, this region is a global conservation priority for the Nature Conservancy because of its biodiversity and resilience in the face of a warming climate.
What we're trying to do is to keep Maine's forests, forest," says Abby King of the Nature Conservancy Maine. "This place is hugely important for the forest economy in Maine. And if we lose out on our forests, we lose our livelihoods and our culture as well as a place for plants and animals to live."
Bayroot LLC, an investment company controlled by Yale University, owns the land, which is managed for timber. Under the terms of the deal, more than 60,000 acres would continue to be harvested, but Jake Metzler of the Forest Society of Maine says it will be done sustainably. As the holder of a conservation easement over most of the property, he says his group will ensure that the amount of wood that's cut does not exceed what's growing. Plans also call for 100-foot-wide forest buffers around lakes, rivers and streams to benefit cold water fish.
"Keeping forest cover around the watershed and directly over the streams keeps the water temperature cooler and allows that cold water to persist which is necessary for the brook trout," Metzler says.
Plans also call for setting aside 11,000 acres that won't be cut or managed. Instead, Jon Leibowitz of Northeast Wilderness Trust says his group will own it and keep it "forever wild" as an ecological reserve. The wilderness parcel is adjacent to another wilderness preserve just across the New Hampshire border.
Combined, Leibowitz says they total 25,000 acres, which is the amount of land that scientists have said can withstand natural disturbances like pest infestations and wind events.
Protecting large landscapes like this one is crucial, Leibowitz says. It doesn't happen very often in New England.
"Will this kind of thing be available in the future? I don't know," he says. "But we have an opportunity to do it now … and it's just a really special opportunity. It's once in a generation."
Rangeley is best known as a fly-fishing destination, but it's also popular for hunting, bird watching and snowmobiling. Molly Shaw of Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust says public access for those activities will continue after the land is conserved.
“We're fortunate to have access in all parts of the state of Maine. But I think maybe what people don't realize is access is under threat," she says. "You know, a private landowner could come in and shut down what's currently available."
And that's why angler and guide Alex Caisse is so committed to sealing the Magalloway deal. He says it has something beneficial for everyone.
"We need to get a lot of people out here. It would do them a world of good. Nobody wants to talk politics when you're out here ... because when you look at all this and what nature is giving us ... I just feel appreciative," Caisse says.
~ Reporting and story by Susan Sharon
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Winter is coming, and with it comes icy driveways, roads, steps, and — salt, salt and more salt.
Sodium chloride, also called rock salt or table salt, is the most commonly used salt to melt ice and prevent ground from freezing — Maine uses over 1 billion pounds annually, according to recent data.
But although salting keeps our roadways and sidewalks clear of winter hazards — saving lives — our waterways and drinking water end up paying a heavy price.
One study in Minnesota found that 70% of applied road salts in a city ended up in the watershed. Other studies confirmed that road salt is making its way into private wells, which tested significantly higher than EPA standards — and elevated levels of salt in city water in Flint, Michigan, likely contributed to the drinking water crisis there, because salt corrodes lead pipes.
The accumulation of road salt in surface and groundwater can put animals like deer (that love to eat the toxic salt) at risk, create aquatic deadzones, kill plants and even chemically alter the makeup of soil.
Because it can take decades for salt to flush out of a watershed, researchers at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies say the salt levels in our fresh water could keep rising for years or decades, even if we quit using road salt now.
So what can we do? Many states and municipalities have been experimenting with alternative solutions: mixing salt with water into a liquid brine that doesn’t freeze; experimenting with using beet and corn byproducts; mixing in sand for traction and to use less salt overall.
At home, we can try all this and more:
Used coffee grounds, rather than going straight in the compost, can be spread on the stairs — it will increase traction for walking, and the nitrogen in the grounds will also help to melt the ice.
Have any spare epsom salt lying around, for the bath or the garden? Epsom can be used to deice and is easier on the environment than rock salt. Farmer’s Almanac suggests a 1:1 mix of sugar and epsom salt to speed up thawing.
Urea (carbonyl diamide) is an ingredient in fertilizer that isn’t salt-based, but helps de-ice all the same. It’s environmentally safer than salt (although go easy, because nitrogen runoff does cause algal blooms) and doesn’t harm pets or concrete. Plus, come spring, your lawn may grow a little better. It can melt ice down to temperatures of 15 degrees Fahrenheit.
Alfalfa meal is also a fertilizer that can melt ice and provide traction — both can be found at gardening stores.
Finished a jar of pickles? That pickle juice brine can defrost your walkway! You can also apply it to walkways ahead of a storm, and as long as temps stay above 23 degrees Fahrenheit, it should prevent ice from forming in the first place. Likewise, cheeseheads can use the brine from an empty container of cheese, like feta or mozzarella. Who knew?
Stay warm, and see you next time,
Molly
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