Four conservation organizations have joined forces to purchase and permanently protect a massive tract of wild forestland in Maine’s north country, and some Trout Unlimited stream champions are doing their part to help seal the deal.
The Magalloway Collaborative is working to raise $68 million to obtain 78,000 thousand acres in the Northern Appalachians, hard against the New Hampshire border just a short distance from Canada.
TU’s Coldwater Land Conservancy Fund, managed by the National Leadership Council’s Land Conservancy Work Group has made a grant of $50,000 to the Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust to demonstrate TU’s support.
The gift can grow with additional support from TU members, chapters, councils and supporters.
A champion leading the effort, but he can’t do it alone
Paul Doscher, a longtime TU volunteer leader and current member of the Board of Trustees, was inspired to spearhead TU’s support after talking with a friend who serves on collaborative member Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust’s board.
The property, Doscher’s friend said, will provide additional opportunities for TU to expand restoration work that’s been ongoing elsewhere in Maine, for example in the Kennebago watershed.
“I went to Bill Pastuszek, who manages TU’s land conservancy workgroup, and I suggested we make a grant,” said Doscher. “And then I said, let’s make it a challenge.
In addition to the $50,000 that has already been granted through the Maine Council, let’s grant another $50,000 if we can get members, chapters and councils to match it.”
The collaborative, which also includes The Nature Conservancy in Maine, the Forest Society of Maine and the Northeast Wilderness Trust, has already raised the vast majority of the funding. The target deadline to close on the property is May.
Doscher said reaching TU’s ambitious fundraising goal would require reaching outside of Maine.
“Let’s open it up to anybody,” he said. “A lot of people from all over the country have been there and might be interested in participating and helping to preserve that amazing area.”
A place worth protection
The parcel contains 170 miles of rivers and streams and 2,400 acres of wetlands, lakes and ponds.
The fishing for native brook trout and landlocked Atlantic salmon is phenomenal. Importantly, modeling has shown that the region’s coldwater resources are uniquely positioned to persist as warming global temperatures threaten trout and salmon habitat elsewhere.
“People outside Maine appreciate the state as a brook trout stronghold,” Doscher said.
Acquisition of the property would effectively connect 500,000 acres of conserved lands between New Hampshire and Maine.
The majority of the 78,000 acres would continue to be carefully managed for timber harvests while also ensuring continuity for the region’s world class outdoor recreation offerings, including not only fishing but hunting, hiking, paddling and snowmobiling.
As he’s been working on the fundraising effort, Doscher has reminisced about his many adventures in the region, including a special encounter with a particularly eager fish.
“The very first time I went up there I fished in a nice pool above a log jam,” he said. “I had a Parachute Adams on and just wanted to make one last cast before we left. The fly was still 18 inches above the water when a 20-inch landlocked salmon came out of the water and took the fly in midair.”
Doscher still chuckles at the memory, one of a long list he plans to keep adding to, especially once permanent protections for the Magalloway are in place.
Donate Now to Protect Magalloway
Help us raise $50,000 towards the matching gift! Your donation will support the purchase and conservation of 78,000-acre parcel that contains 170 miles of rivers and streams and 2,400 acres of wetlands, lakes and ponds.