Project Completion Report
March 25, 2003
Dear Friends,
I am pleased to announce that the Spednic Lake/St. Croix River conservation acquisition was successfully completed on Thursday, March 20, with the final settlement and recording of the instruments taking place the next day. On behalf of the Woodie Wheaton Land Trust’s Board of Directors, I want to thank you for your continued support and patience.
The past two weeks have been extremely hectic as we confronted a series of legal or administrative glitches and the posturing of attorneys seeking protection of their client interests. The paperwork conveying some 50 miles of shore frontage and islands in the river, reserving appurtenant easements to the use of roads by the grantor, conveying access easements to the public, and routing the Spednic properties through WWLT to the State of Maine, was complicated. These days required some ingenuity and cooperation from all parties and, in the end, we prevailed.
The deal was structured like this. Wagner Timber Partners (the seller) deeded a 500-foot corridor along approximately 35 miles of the St. Croix River, along with their interest in islands in the river, directly to the State of Maine, Department of Conservation. Wagner conveyed a 500-foot corridor along approximately 15 miles of Spednic Lake in three separate parcels, plus a 4-acre out-lot on Muncie Point, to Woodie Wheaton Land Trust. WWLT immediately reconveyed all Spednic properties to the State of Maine, Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, with restrictive covenants in place.
The deed covenants ensure that the State of Maine will permanently preserve the property consistent with the funding purposes of the Land for Maine's Future statute, prohibiting development as well as additional boat launch facilities, while ensuring the land’s availability for public use. Our deed to the State specifically recognizes the importance of this land for wildlife habitat, public outdoor recreation, hunting and fishing, conservation, and scenic beauty. By being in the direct chain of title as grantor, WWLT retains a unique and specific legal interest recognizable in court, which would allow us to request an injunction or sue the State of Maine if we feel the conditions of the conveyance have been compromised.
The level of restraint imposed on the State of Maine, while not perfect, provides a much higher degree of permanence for the preservation of these lands than other LMFB acquisitions. It was truly the greatest challenge of WWLT in nurturing and achieving the project, notwithstanding the challenge of raising the funds to pay for it. It took two years of intense negotiation, sustained by the Board's conviction to ensure permanence, and the understanding that verbal promises mean little in the long run whether property is held privately or publicly.
The New England Forestry Foundation (NEFF), our fundraising partner on this project, has recently signed an option to purchase a conservation easement to thousands of acres of working forest in Washington County in collaboration with the Downeast Lakes Land Trust of Grand Lake Stream. If successful, the easement will provide an additional layer of protection to the waterfront corridor by maintaining the integrity of the forest land abutting it. That project extends east to the St. Croix River, northward along much of Spednic Lake, and even addresses a small section of lake frontage on East Grand Lake.
Wagner also conveyed public access to the waterway over many company roads. This includes important access to the St. Croix at such nodes as Little Falls and Loon Bay, and public use of Castle Road to the boat landing on Spednic Lake owned by Domtar. Landowner liability over these roads was a sticking point in the project’s evolution.
Woodie Wheaton Land Trust contributed $120,000 toward acquisition of the Spednic/ St. Croix corridor. When our partnership with NEFF began on October 4, 2001, WWLT pledged $50,000 to the project with a target of raising $100,000. It was hard to forecast our ability to raise significant monies in rural eastern Maine. In 2002, we confronted a weak economy, a collapsed stock market which severely restrained both private and foundation giving, stiff competition from other conservation projects in Maine, and a looming war. People embraced the project, however, and were very generous indeed.
In December, 2002, the overall project was still $160,000 short with the purchase option about to expire. I filmed an appeal on New England Cable News (NECN) in Boston with Amos Eno of NEFF and news anchor Chet Curtis, a documentary many of you saw. The Maine Community Foundation awarded us $10,000 if we could match it, and many people immediately stepped up to help. The injection allowed the Board to raise WWLT’s contribution to $120,000. It helped. (This does not include WWLT’s fundraising costs, which were defrayed by grants from the Davis Conservation Foundation and the New England Grassroots Foundation, plus the uncompensated expenses of members.)
Financial support for WWLT’s component was broad based. Nearly 250 families and individuals donated, for which we are grateful. The Chiputneticook Lakes International Conservancy pledged $5000 in the early going, a big help. The Wildlife Management Institute, Princeton Rod and Gun Club, and Bucks Mills Rod and Gun Club also provided dollar support. Several members raised their ante when the going got tough.
Thanks go to NEFF, the St. Croix International Waterway Commission, the Land for Maine’s Future program, and the Maine Departments of Conservation and Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. These parties refused to let the project fail, even when issues became contentious.
On April 31 [2003], Governor Baldacci will hold a press conference to announce fruition of the Spednic Lake/St. Croix River conservation effort. Dignitaries will gather in Augusta to applaud the effort on behalf of the citizens of Maine and outdoor enthusiasts everywhere.
This project will allow future generations to see and enjoy a very special place. It took many years to complete. Yet, it is testimony to what can be accomplished when the cause is noble and people are willing to work for it. The idea of preserving major segments of this unspoiled waterway originated right here, by people familiar with this essential natural beauty and who were unwilling to let these traces of wildness slip away. You have all helped make this happen.
Thanks, everyone.
Sincerely,
Dale Wheaton
Read some Acknowledgement Notes about the completion of this conservation project
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