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A large, scenic Belfast property once used for commercial blueberry growing is now for sale.
That’s raising concern among area residents that the land could be purchased by a developer or private landholder who could bar the public from accessing it. They are now pushing for it to be preserved.
The 247 acres were once owned and harvested by Allen’s Blueberry Freezer, an Ellsworth-based company. After the company ended its berry harvesting operations several years ago, it sold the bulk of its land to the Milbridge company Jasper Wyman & Son.
But the land for sale in Belfast — in the vicinity of Back Belmont, Armstrong and Hunt roads in the rural interior of the city — is one of several parcels that the Allen family retained. It’s now owned by Jason Allen of Ellsworth, who has listed it for sale for $1.8 million.
Now, some area residents are pushing for one of the region’s land trusts to protect the property so that it can remain open to the public and continue to offer other environmental benefits that come from unspoiled land.
If preserved, it would become another blueberry barren along Maine’s coast that was put into conservation despite pressure for more housing and other development in the region. That also recently happened when a developer proposed building housing on a barren in Blue Hill in recent years. The debate over conserving those properties also taps into longer-standing concerns across Maine about the public losing access to privately owned land on which visitors have traditionally been allowed.
The land in Belfast is high enough in elevation that visitors can get 360-degree views over Penobscot Bay and the rest of the region. It is known to some residents as Blueberry Hill or Patterson Hill — but is separate from the Patterson Hill Road neighborhood on the other side of the Passagassawakeag River.
Amy Niemczura-Sowa, an avid hiker from Unity, recently shared her concerns about the property being for sale in a community Facebook page, prompting others to share their appreciation for the land.
In an email, Niemczura-Sowa said that she has never specifically sought permission from Allen to use the land, but that there are no signs warning the public against it.
“It is not posted from any approach, and it is so commonly used for walking, mountain and fat biking, and snowmobiling,” Niemczura-Sowa said. “In Maine, we have a tradition of private landowners sharing access with responsible users, and this blueberry field seemed to be in that vein.”
Before the land went on the market, Allen had discussed with a land trust the possibility of protecting it, according to the listing agent for the property, Carleton Johnson. That did not result in a sale, but “he would not be adverse to it,” Johnson said.
“I think there’s been some interest in some people who have interest in conserving it,” Johnson said. “It’s an exceptional property. It’s one of the few where one can access the hill site and control most of what you’re looking at.”
Maine Coast Heritage Trust declined to comment on the possibility of buying the land.
Niemczura-Sowa, who works in Belfast, would like to see the land be preserved, not just for its pristine views, but also for its natural, undeveloped environment. When she stumbled upon the hidden blueberry field for the first time — which she’d heard about through word of mouth — it felt like uncovering a piece of old coastal Waldo County, she said.
“So much of the coast is being cleaned up and bought, and this little timeless corner, folks remember picking blueberries here and finding peace climbing up to the top,” Niemczura-Sowa said. “Last winter, when it was so cold and we had enough snow for a stretch, you could hear the ‘brap-brap-brap’ of a snowmobile from those fields. Folks have made lots of happy memories at Patterson Hill.”
