MAINE PUBLIC • December 24, 2021
Maine has conserved about 4 million acres of land so far. That's about 21%. "That would include all the public lands, federal and state, and there's some local lands as well as lands conserved by private organizations like MCHT and lands protected by conservation easement," says Tim Glidden, outgoing president of the Maine Coast Heritage Trust. Under an arrangement known as an easement, land remains in private ownership but development rights are extinguished. To get to 30% in the next eight years, Maine will need to protect nearly 2 million more acres. That's an area more than twice the size of Rhode Island. It's a big number, and Glidden says conservation groups will need funding and they'll need to be strategic.