The Maine Woodland Owners recently added 326 acres in Moro Plantation in Aroostook County to their land trust in their efforts to conserve the state’s forests.
The property, donated by Donna Roggenthien who considers the Knox County town of Friendship home, is located roughly 15 miles north of Patten with nearly 12,500 feet fronting Rockabema Lake, an important fishery for natural landlocked salmon and brook trout.
This is only the second and the largest woodland forest donation in Aroostook County, said Jennifer Hicks, the organization’s director of communications and outreach.
“Her generosity is amazing,” Hicks said. “Her dedication to conservation is astounding.”
The Maine Woodland Owners now hold almost 12,000 acres of land around the state, owning a little over 8,000 acres with an additional 3,300 acres in conservation easement which means the owner still owns the land but has sold the development rights.
Hicks said that many times people create a bond with this land they own and it is part of them. Perhaps they have aged out of being able to maintain the property or a family member passed away or is not local and they can’t keep up with it.
“For some, keeping that legacy alive is really important and a lot of people don’t want to let go of something that has been in the family for generations,” Hicks said. “It becomes a very important way for them to note their legacy and contribute to the community and benefit the greater good.”
Roggenthien shared with the Maine Woodland Owners that she was looking for an organization to steward the land and take care of it, to perform responsible forestry as needed and to maintain public access for all to enjoy the “magnificence” of the lake.
The Woodland Owners, an education and outreach organization that will celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2025, started the land trust in the 1990s as a legacy planning option and as a way to address a growing need to conserve working forests in Maine, Hicks said.
The program is unique in that they only accept lands and conservation easements where active forest management is allowed. All of their properties are forest certified by an internationally recognized third-party system and enrolled in Maine’s Tree Growth or Open Space Tax programs.
“We believe in continuing to support local communities where we own land,” Hicks said, adding that the lands are open to the public for hunting, hiking and to enjoy the natural environment.
They will only accept a parcel if the donor agrees to have them manage the land sustainably.
When they take ownership of the land, they are responsible for maintaining and managing the property.
“We manage for woodland health and wildlife, we pay property taxes on it,” she said. “The policy is to do no development on that property. It will just stay forested and natural open space.”
Generally, the first thing they do is develop a management plan if none exists from the owner.
Many times they will get a property that is still growing trees that are relatively young and had a harvest maybe 20 to 30 years ago and are not quite ready for harvest.
The lands can also serve as a demonstration to other landowners about what they can do with their own land and they can show them in real time.
“It’s amazing what kinds of tree species promote different types of wildlife. And the spacing between the trees and the undergrowth and the amount of cover,” Hicks said, adding that woodland owners often want to know how to attract wildlife.
From 1 to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 6, they are giving a tour of one of their land trust properties, Wagg Family Memorial Trust, that just had a harvest. The forester that managed the harvest will lead a tour at Ferry Road and Wagg Road in Lisbon.
