Land-rescue group buys in Highlands
by Dan McGillvray
Staff Writer

Augusta - The Belgrade-area group working to protect nearly 6,000 acres of land from development got boost recently with a $700,000 loan from Kennebec Savings Bank and a $250,000 loan from Norcross Wildlife Foundation.

The money was used earlier this month to purchase two parcels - totaling 2,403 acres - in the Kennebec Highlands proposal that covers portions of Mount Vernon, Vienna, Rome and New Sharon. The largest tract, at 2,130 acres, forms the core of the project.

Denny Phillips, president of the 12-year-old Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance, said that parcel was in danger of being sold to another buyer.

"The property was on the market and we had to close on it by the end of the year," he explained. The alliance, a nonprofit land trust, was able to obtain the land formerly owned by Buckfield Timber Co. with most of the borrowed money.

Mark Johnston, president of Kennebec Highlands Savings Bank, said he personally supports the alliance's efforts to establish the land conservation area. And the bank, as a community-oriented institution, was willing to lend the funds, he added.

"This is a huge project in its scope. I think of it as the Baxter State Park of the south. We were very happy to assist them," said Johnston.

The bank also helped the Winthrop-based Kennebec Land Trust, another nonprofit group that conserves land, purchase Norris Island, in Wayne, for a reduced price. After acquiring the Androscoggin Lake Island through a foreclosure, the bank offered the property to the land trust at a price below market value.

"We felt that it would have been too bad if someone had developed it," said Johnston.

Most of the land within the Kennebec Highlands' boundary is wooded, but some open blueberry fields cover upper elevations. Five undeveloped ponds, and Kennebec County's highest point of land, Vienna's 1,300-foot McGaffey Mountain, also are dominant natural features.

With a $950,000 loan to pay off, Phillips said the alliance is "way out on a limb" and members are "nervous but optimistic. Without the involvement and support of Kennebec Savings Bank, we could have never pulled this off," he added. Johnston said the loan wa for the short term.

The alliance several months ago submitted an application to the Land For Maine's Future Board to secure a $1.8 million grant for land purchases. If approved, part of those funds would be used to retire the two recent loans, Phillips said.

'The important point we want to stick to is that we still have a long way to go to make this a reality," he said. Kennebec Highlands, in the heart of central Maine, is about a 15-minute drive from Augusta and Waterville.

The state board, which works closely with several staff members in the State Planning Office, in 1999 awarded $200,000 to the Belgrade alliance for land purchases in the Kennebec Highlands project.

The board's guidelines require a 1-to-2 match for any money distributed by the state. If the board in 2001 supports the alliance's application and approves the $1.8 million request, along with the previously approved $200,000, the alliance must contribute $1 million.

Phillips said the group has accumulated about $600,000 in donations and will attempt to raise $400,000 in 2001. So far, the alliance has acquired more than half of the acreage in the 5,980-acre Kennebec Highlands project.

The Land For Maine's Future Board will use $50 million, approved by voters in Nov. 1999 as a bond referendum, to fund applications for land and farm purchases throughout the state that meet specific guidelines. Staff members and the board's nominating committee are reviewing 40 applications that were submitted by separate deadlines in September and October.

The board was established in 1987 after Maine voters approved a $35 million bond for purchasing conservation, recreation and agricultural lands. At the board's next meeting, on Jan 25-26, members could ask the staff to prioritize the applications.