Sunday, March 15, 2009 - KENNEBEC HIGHLANDS: This land is your land

BY COLIN HICKEY
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel 03/15/2009

KENNEBEC HIGHLANDS: This land is your land

BELGRADE -- Ernie is a sturdy, somewhat overweight yellow Labrador retriever mix that enjoys jumping into owner Peter Kallin's truck and traveling the Belgrade Lakes watershed.

On one unseasonably warm day earlier this month, Kallin gave Ernie a special treat: a hike up French Mountain, a perch with fabulous views of Long and Great ponds, part of the Belgrade Lakes chain.

Kallin, the executive director of the Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance, said turkey vultures take advantage of summer air currents to hover at the mountain's summit, giving them a bird's eye view -- in the truest sense -- of the Kennebec Highlands, the 6,000-acre stretch of protected, undeveloped land and ponds in the Belgrade Lakes region.

French Mountain is where the Kennebec Highlands started -- one of the first pieces of land purchased in a more than 20-year effort to preserve the region's natural beauty and protect water quality, as well to provide access to prime recreation land to the public.

Kallin's hope, as well as his mission as head of the Conservation Alliance, is that the Kennebec Highlands will continue to grow so that the view from French Mountain will improve rather than degrade in the years to come.

In that respect the news has been good of late.

Last month, the Conservation Alliance completed three land-acquisition deals or transfers that ensure about 200 acres more of undeveloped land will be safeguarded as part of Kennebec Highlands.

The latest acquisitions are part of an initiative aimed at achieving a 1,000-acre expansion by the end of the year -- so far about 400 of those acres have been acquired.

A big component of the effort is raising the money needed for the land purchases. The Conservation Alliance needs nearly $600,000 over the next two years to cover that, as well as money to manage the acquired property.

Determining the exact size of Kennebec Highlands at a given time can be challenging, a byproduct of the dynamic and complicated process the Conservation Alliance must follow to protect such pristine habitat.

That process often involves several stages before the acquisition is complete, as well as a diversified portfolio of strategies that involve land purchases, land transfers, property easements and property-management agreements.

But the larger story, and perhaps the more important one, is that the effort has been quite successful over the years, an achievement all the more remarkable given that the forces that led to the creation of Kennebec Highlands began and remain grassroots at their core.

The roots

John Schooley is one of the founders of Watson Pond Conservation Trust, the group that three years later became the Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance.

French Mountain was the group's first acquisition -- a significant one for Schooley in particular -- and not only because the camp he owns on Watson Pond sits at the base of the hill.

"(French Mountain) was my first experience in Maine about a year before I moved up here," he said.

Schooley had been living in New York City at the time. The experience of seeing the Belgrade Lakes region from the summit of French Mountain was memorable to say the least -- and one he decided needed to be preserved.

And he was not alone in that regard.

"My own feeling is that the need was apparent to the people in the Belgrade Lakes area," he said, "and with the leadership of an incredible board of directors, they were able to maintain the interest in the organization and grow it into a sort of multi-faceted conservation organization."

Roy Bouchard, a past president and longest current member of the Conservation Alliance Board of Directors, was one of those leaders.

"I think the entire organization, especially the land trust people, kept the Kennebec Highlands firmly in our sights the entire time," he said.

Members also understood, he said, that land acquisition had to be strategic, that the effort needed to focus on creating a cohesive whole with no breaks of developed land.

A key to the success has been a collaborative effort with the state, making the most of funds available through the Land for Maine's Future program and then working with the Department of Conservation to turn acquired land over to the state.

By making the latter transaction, the Conservation Alliance is able to satisfy some of the matching fund obligations that come with Land For Maine's Future money.

At the same time, Kennebec Highlands advocates can rest assured that land will remain protected under the Department of Conservation.

Steve Brooke, program director for Land for Maine's Future, said the relationship has worked extremely well, not just in central Maine but throughout the state.

"It is a strategic partnership," he said, "that is built upon local knowledge and local relationships."

The future

In his office on Main Street in Belgrade, Kallin has a color-coded map of Kennebec Highlands that documents the acquisitions and outlines the objectives.

The job of land acquisition is never-ending, and one that has many components.

Kallin must contact landowners, convince them to see the wisdom of land protection and choose the best method to achieve the expansion.

His ultimate objective is to see Kennebec Highlands grow to between 10,000 and 11,000 acres. At that size, he said, the habitat could support Canadian lynx, bobcats, moose and various other animals and birds that need larger stretches of continuous protected land to survive.

Not an easy task, but one Kallin sees as achievable.

"It depends on the economy among other things," he said.

Kallin said the poor state of the economy has driven down land costs, which has been a plus. On the other hand, rising unemployment and largely stagnant wages have made the job of fundraising more difficult, he said.

Bouchard, though, is optimistic that progress will continue despite the current economic problems.

"I think if you have a good project, people will help and sometimes they will help over several years," he said.

Bouchard said the best opportunities for expanding Kennebec Highlands lie to the north and west, and he advocates going after them as soon as possible. Procrastination can be fatal to the cause. Once land is sold for development, he said, it is gone for good.

So the story remains unfinished, but that doesn't mean what exists now is lacking.

Kallin can count on the dedication of his volunteers, because those volunteers understand Kennebec Highlands is a place to treasure.

They understand it's a place where a man and his dog can take a hike -- no parking or trail fee involved -- up French Mountain and be rewarded with the same panoramic view of natural beauty that inspired a handful of people to create Kennebec Highlands decades ago.

Schooley marvels at what has been accomplished.

"It is phenomenal, beyond my expectations," he said, "but consistent with our dreams."

Colin Hickey -- 861-9205

chickey@centralmaine.com