Northeast Wilderness Trust purchased approximately 2,300 acres in Atkinson and Charleston to add to the Alder Stream Wilderness Preserve in 2014. Protection of this key parcel significantly advances the ecological recovery of the area and brings the total acreage of the Alder Stream Wilderness Preserve to just over 6,800 acres.
The West Branch Dead Stream Property contains extensive wetlands that provide exceptional habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife, as well as approximately 15 miles of frontage along Levensellor Brook and Dead Stream, critical habitat for imperiled Atlantic salmon. In a bird survey of the property, 41 bird species were recorded; one highlight was a singing clay-colored sparrow—a species that has been confirmed breeding in Maine only once.
According to then Executive Director of Northeast Wilderness Trust, Daryl Burtnett, “The protection of this land as forever wild ensures that the forest that has been cut will recover, and that the woods and wetlands will stay intact for future generations of wildlife and people. We can rest assured that this wild place is protected from the threats of habitat fragmentation and loss of public access.”
On a landscape scale, the Alder Stream addition plays a crucial linkage role and prevents the fragmentation of the surrounding protected landscape. The addition connects the Alder Stream Preserve to the adjacent 6,500 acre Bud Leavitt Wildlife Management Area and fills in the largest unprotected gap in the approximately 22,000-acre Piscataquis River-Alder Stream project area. Additional phases of conservation are envisioned in the future, including protection of key inholdings, adjoining parcels, and various ecological hotspots providing habitat for rare and sensitive species.