BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 18, 2025
A 78,000-acre tract of land will be in permanent conservation in the Magalloway River region of western Maine, if a deal agreed to by four Maine conservation groups and the logging company that owns most of the property makes it to fruition. The agreement is contingent on raising the $62 million needed to close the deal by May 2026. The parcel connects two properties already in conservation in Maine and New Hampshire, creating a 500,000-acre piece of contiguous conserved land. It includes Aziscohos Lake, the Magalloway River, about 30 brooks and streams and Rump Mountain. The Magalloway region is considered one of the last strongholds for wild native brook trout in the U.S. The landowner will continue to own and manage 62,500 acres for logging with no-cut buffers around lakes, ponds and streams. All current uses will be allowed on most of the land, including hunting, fishing, hiking, snowmobiling, boating and viewing wildlife. 11,200 acres will be a wilderness preserve.