29 acres conserved on a midcoast mountain

Two organizations have just conserved 29 acres on Spruce Mountain in the midcoast town of Rockport. The Coastal Mountains Land Trust was able to protect the land through a partnership with Maine Water, a public water utility, according to a press release. It joins 1,500 acres that are already protected by the land trust across 15 towns in the Penobscot Bay region. The organizations argued that the new protections will prevent the land from being sold off as demand grows for development in the region. “This is an opportunity to do something different than just sell this land off,” said Coastal Mountains Land Trust Executive Director Ian Stewart. “We live in an extraordinarily beautiful place, and there’s an opportunity still here to see that some of the most special places in our community are set aside.” Maine Water also announced that it donated $10,000 to help the land trust with its conservation efforts. Among the land trust’s holdings are nearby Mirror Lake and Grassy Pond, which are sources of drinking water for six coastal communities.