Great Works Regional Land Trust seeks South Berwick letter of support for two land purchases

Great Works Regional Land Trust representatives asked the South Berwick Town Council on May 13 for a municipal letter of support for two land-acquisition applications to Maine’s Land for Maine’s Future program.

Tim Smith, a volunteer with the Great Works Regional Land Trust, told the council the trust submitted two projects in South Berwick: a 24-acre parcel adjacent to Cox’s Pond and a 104-acre parcel around White Marsh Brook. The White Marsh Brook parcel is listed for $375,000; the trust asked Land for Maine’s Future for roughly half of that amount. For the Cox’s Pond parcel, the owner is asking $100,000 and the trust requested $50,000 from the state program.

Smith said both sellers are willing, and that the parcels lie within a Mount Agamenticus conservation focus area. He noted that Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife visited the sites and supports the projects because of vernal pools and the parcels’ connection to the Great Works River and Salmon Falls estuary. “Both landowners are willing sellers,” Smith said.

The council asked clarifying questions about access, adjacent protected land and timing; Smith said the White Marsh Brook parcel can be accessed from Ropefield extension and that the trust already protects hundreds of adjoining acres near Cox’s Pond. He said the Land for Maine’s Future board will make awards at a meeting two days after the council meeting, making the timeline tight.

Councilors did not vote during the presentation; staff and the council discussed that the conservation commission’s letter would not, in this case, satisfy the grant program’s requirement for a municipal letter. The council agreed to consider the request and to provide a municipal letter if the council approves it at a subsequent meeting.