The Piscataquis Preserve—a 1,200-acre tract of conifer and deciduous forest, wetlands, and riparian habitat— is the Northeast Wilderness Trust’s most recent conservation initiative. This parcel, part of Maine’s extraordinary Penobscot River Basin and a growing network of locally conserved lands, offers outstanding wilderness recovery potential. Once conserved, the Piscataquis Preserve will be one of the few places in Maine where nature will direct the ebb and flow of life, and the plants, animals, and natural processes will be sustained in perpetuity. But we need your help to complete this project.

 

With three miles of frontage on the Piscataquis River, extensive adjacent and nearby conservation lands, crucial habitat for rare and endangered species, and a one-of-a kind grove of American chestnuts, the Piscataquis Preserve offers a rare opportunity to create a wild legacy for Maine and the nation.

 

Conservation science tells us that the best way to sustain biodiversity is by protecting large, connected natural areas. Under the perpetual stewardship of the Northeast Wilderness Trust, the Piscataquis Preserve will become a part of an expansive, 20,000-acre network of conserved lands. This area is part of an even larger 88,000-acre region designated by The Nature Conservancy as a Tier 1 Matrix Forest Block due to its unfragmented and high quality forest and wetland characteristics. Moreover, the Maine Environmental Priorities Coalition, comprised of 27 organizations including Maine Audubon, Maine Rivers, and the Natural Resources Council of Maine, has identified the Alder Stream watershed as a priority for greater conservation protection. Please click here to see a map of the property and abutting conserved lands.

 

The Piscataquis Preserve provides a critical link in the matrix of already conserved lands in the area and is adjacent to the 1,500-acre Alder Stream property that the Trust has protected since 2006. Conservation of the parcel is supported by a host of well-established partners, including the American Chestnut Foundation, Atlantic Salmon Federation, The Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited, and the State of Maine.

 

Piscataquis Preserve encompasses 245 acres of “high value habitat” wetlands, which serve as an important stopover for migratory waterfowl. The greater Piscataquis Preserve area acts as a vital habitat linkage for many species, including wide-ranging mammals such as bear, marten, ermine, fisher, and possibly even the federally endangered Canada lynx. It will be conserved for the benefit of the multitude of creatures that call this landscape “home.”

 

The American chestnut was formerly one of the most abundant and majestic trees in the eastern United States. Early settlers valued its lumber for everything from fence posts to furniture, and the annual nut crop provided a key food source for wildlife. In the early 1900s, imported chestnut lumber or trees carried the chestnut blight fungus to our nation and caused the virtual elimination of American chestnut trees. Today, finding a single healthy chestnut tree is cause for celebration. Piscataquis Preserve contains hundreds of them across nearly fifteen acres, including several mature, nut-producing trees. At 34” in diameter one individual found in the Piscataquis Preserve is likely the largest chestnut in Maine.

 

The Piscataquis chestnuts comprise what is thought to be the largest grove of wild, reproducing American chestnuts in existence, anywhere. Protecting the Piscataquis Preserve will ensure that this stand of trees will remain a seedbed of recovery—and a vital scientific resource for researchers with the American Chestnut  Foundation, who have been conducting research and conservation activities at the site under an informal agreement with the timber company that presently owns the land.

 

The Piscataquis is one of only a handful of rivers in North America with wild Atlantic salmon, a federally listed endangered species. Atlantic salmon figure prominently in the region’s cultural and natural character, and require both saltwater and freshwater to survive. Salmon use the streams and rivers of Maine as nurseries and spawning grounds. The river frontage along the future Piscataquis Preserve contains important rearing habitat for young salmon. Keeping the tract undeveloped and forever-wild will help advance recovery efforts for this iconic species.

 

The Piscataquis Preserve provides important breeding grounds for several wetland-associated species that are identified as “species of greatest conservation need” in Maine’s Comprehensive Wildlife Action Plan, including American woodcock, olive-sided flycatcher, Canada warbler, American bittern, pied-billed grebe, wood thrush, and wood turtle. These wetlands also serve as a stopover for migratory waterfowl, various warblers, and raptors including red-shouldered hawks and northern harriers.

 

Please click on the Donate Now button to the left side of this page to lend your support to this extraordinary and exciting project. If you would rather mail your donation in, our address is 14 Beacon Street Suite 506 Boston, MA 02108. 

To view our project profile, please click here.

Please don't hesitate to call our office at 617-742-0628 with any questions about the project or to ask about how you can help us protect this magnificent property.  

The plants and animals of Piscataquis Preserve thank you.