PORTLAND, Maine - Thanks to a new purchase of 150 acres of land, the town of Unity now has a 1,500-acre conservation area.
The area will be open for recreational activities, including hiking, bird watching, hunting, and skiing, and will have public boat access.
Jennifer Irving is the executive director of the Sebasticook Regional Land Trust; she says the new parcel also has an important role to play connecting existing conservation lands "so we have 1,500 acres. That's important for wide-ranging critters such as moose and bear, and our local deer population."
Irving says the land is rich in biodiversity, and is also home to less common animals and plants like wood turtles, wild garlic, and bur oak.
The land was sold for conservation by two sisters who grew up on it. Irving says the new acreage will be called the Rines Wetlands and Wildlife Preserve, after the maiden name of Jackie Ingraham and Linda Berry.
