Twelve new conservation projects will receive state funding under the Land for Maine's Future program.
The projects will preserve working farmland, waterfronts, and forests.
One includes the 63,000-acre Reed Deadwater parcel in Aroostook County. It's the state’s largest conservation project to date that protects deer wintering habitat.
The Mills administration says the projects total nearly $8 million and will leverage an additional $24 million in private and federal funds.
Land for Maine's Future is the state's primary method for conserving land. Since it was established through a voter bond in 1987, it's conserved more than 610,000 acres of land, more than half of which is working land.
