The Trust for Public Land and Trout Unlimited recently announced the purchase of the Cold Stream forest, a 8,159-acre property near The Forks. The acquisition will provide public access and protect habitat for deer and wild brook trout, including more than 3,000 acres of deer wintering area and seven wild brook trout ponds.
The two organizations paid $7.34 million to buy the land from Weyerhauser, and transferred it to the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry (DACF), Bureau of Parks and Lands (BPL). It will become part of the state’s Public Reserve Lands system.
More than a decade ago, Trout Unlimited (TU) and the state identified the property as a priority. It protects the trout fishery in the Kennebec and Dead Rivers, seven undeveloped ponds which make up the headwaters of Cold Stream, along with 5 miles of Cold Stream itself. The trout fishery is uniquely healthy, functioning much as it did before European settlement.
The $7.34 million came from the US Forest Service’s Forest Legacy Program (FLP) and the Land for Maine’s Future Program (LMF). The federal program, which is funded through the Land and Water Conservation Fund, provided $5.5 million with the strong support of Maine’s congressional delegation. LMF provided an additional $1.5 million toward the $7.34 M project.
source: Trout Unlimited