LAGRANGE, ME—Northeast Wilderness Trust, a regional land trust serving Maine and five other northeastern states, announced today that it has purchased and will permanently protect nearly 3,400 acres of wetlands and forests in Lagrange. The new Birch Stream Wilderness Preserve adds to nearby wildlands in the area and safeguards exemplary habitat for a variety of amphibians, mammals, birds, and more while ensuring the property continues to be a source of natural carbon storage.

“The extensive wetlands at Birch Stream Wilderness Preserve haven’t attracted a lot of human activity, making the property a great home for shy wildlife species,” said Shelby Perry, Northeast Wilderness Trust’s Wildlands Ecology Director. “However, shorelines of any sort are often under immense development pressure, and when these habitats are developed, wetland species that do poorly around human habitation, like Black Ducks and wood turtles, tend to lose out. Protecting these more remote, undeveloped wetland areas ensures that sensitive wildlife continue to have a place to themselves.”

The property, crossed by four different streams that eventually feed into the Penobscot River, includes more than 2,000 acres of mostly undisturbed wetlands composed of several distinct natural communities. These are home to sphagnum moss, small cranberry, and numerous other wetland species. Several of these natural communities are peatlands—ecosystems of sedges, mosses, and shrubs—where drenched soils prevent the full decomposition of dead plant material. Peatlands are a potent natural climate solution, storing more carbon than any other terrestrial ecosystem, but are frequently destroyed when wetlands are drained and developed.

On certain portions of the property, wet soils and open-water areas have discouraged logging and allowed for the evolution of mature ecological characteristics, creating high-quality habitat for an abundance of species. Evidence of beaver, otter, moose, and other wildlife are present. The State of Maine has categorized swathes of the property as deer wintering habitat and others as inland waterfowl and wading bird habitat.

“Birch Stream Wilderness Preserve is a tremendous example of the multiple benefits of forever-wild places,” said Jon Leibowitz, President and CEO at Northeast Wilderness Trust. “As the Preserve’s forests and wetlands, particularly its peatlands, grow older, they will draw more and more carbon from the atmosphere. Meanwhile, myriad wildlife will continue to thrive on the property as it rewilds.”

Birch Stream Wilderness Preserve is open to the public for non-motorized recreation and hunting by permission. To learn more visit: newildernesstrust.org/wilderness-conservation/hunting-and-fishing/

About Northeast Wilderness Trust

Northeast Wilderness Trust conserves forever-wild landscapes for Nature and people. It accomplishes this work by acquiring and stewarding land as forever wild, and by holding forever-wild conservation easements on properties owned by other organizations or individuals. Across New England and New York, the Wilderness Trust secures wild places where Nature can thrive, wildlife can wander, and people can find beauty and quiet. Since its founding in 2002, Northeast Wilderness Trust has protected more than 85,000 forever-wild acres. Learn more at www.newildernesstrust.org.