Supporting LMF and Land Conservation in Maine

Since the inception of the Land for Maine’s Future Program (LMF) in 1987, Maine Audubon has been a leading supporter of the program. LMF works. Not only is it a shot in the arm for Maine’s economy (for every $1 of LMF money spent, $11 accrues to Maine’s economy), it has also preserved Maine’s working lands (farmland, forestland, and working forestland), and conserved outstanding wildlife habitat, too.

The program should continue — and I shared as much with the Land Conservation Task Force this afternoon in Portland.

The Task Force is a diverse group of land conservation stakeholders brought together to assess the accomplishments of the program, as well as its challenges, and to lay the groundwork for a new generation of land conservation in Maine. This afternoon and on October 18 in Bangor (details here), the Task Force asked the public for their thoughts on LMF and posed specific questions on land conservation generally.

Maine Audubon’s primary message? More work needs to be done to conserve diverse, landscape-scale wildlife habitat, including forestlands with structurally complex multi-aged, multi-storied stands; riparian habitat, especially where it intersects with high value Brook Trout and Atlantic Salmon habitat; and habitat for Species of Greatest Conservation Need. You can download our full testimony here (PDF).

I encourage Maine Audubon members and supporters to share your support for LMF and land conservation with the Task Force. If you can’t make the Bangor meeting, you can submit comments to the Task Force. Thank you for joining us in support of continued land conservation in Maine!