Together with a sell-out crowd of 120 guests, Senator King helped KELT Board President Dennis Dunbar of Westport Island and immediate past president Jack Witham of Arrowsic announce the creation of Morse Pond Preserve, a 216-acre community land parcel created and managed by KELT. Scheduled to be open to the public in 2015, this 9th KELT preserve will provide public access to Morse Pond with a connecting trail to Reid State Park.
“I am proud to join with the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust to celebrate a quarter century of land conservation across Maine and to mark yet another one of its many successes with the creation of the Morse Pond Preserve,” Senator King said. “Our state’s vast and beautiful landscape is one of its most important and cherished resources. As KELT well knows, it’s critical that we strive to preserve and enhance these resources for the benefit of our state’s economy and for the enjoyment of generations to come. I applaud KELT for its outstanding work on behalf of Maine.”
Funding for the half-million dollar project has come from the Maine Natural Resource Conservation Program, Merrymeeting Bay Trust, The Evergreen Fund and KELT’s 500+ members. An additional $75,000 still needs to be raised to pay for the parking area, trail work, signage, bog bridges and a stewardship fund.
“Community conservation projects like Morse Pond Preserve take time, money, perseverance and passion,”
commented Jack Witham, KELT Land Committee Chair. “This 216-acre project began in 2003 with a 35-acre parcel known as Stone School Path. Next year, we anticipate having parking and a connecting trail to Reid State Park.”
The Morse Pond area of Georgetown is a largely undeveloped area laying between Route 127 to the west and north, Seguinland Road to the east, Reid State Park and other conservation lands to the south and Indian Point Road to the west. It is part of a 1,862-acre natural area that includes inland waterfowl and wading bird habitat, wetlands and upland forests.
Reid State Park was Maine's first State-owned saltwater beach. In 1946, Georgetown resident Walter Reid donated land to the State of Maine to be preserved forever, and a few years later Reid State Park was created. Penny Barabe, owner of The Mooring Bed & Breakfast and great-granddaughter of Walter Reid, hosted the KELT event with sponsors Jorgensen Landscaping, Reed & Reed, Stantec, Woodex, Sharon Drake Real Estate and Taylor Rental.
The Kennebec Estuary Land Trust is a membership-supported organization dedicated to protecting the land, water and wildlife of the Kennebec Estuary. Comprised of Merrymeeting Bay, the lower Kennebec River and surrounding uplands, the Kennebec Estuary is one of the nation’s most significant coastal resources. Twenty percent of the state’s tidal marshes are found here, the largest concentration in Maine.
Since 1989, KELT has worked to conserve, restore, and instill appreciation of the land and water resources of the Kennebec Estuary to benefit today's communities and future generations. It maintains nine preserves for public enjoyment and has protected over 2,500 acres of land. For more information, visit www.kennebecestuary.org.
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