The Future Is Now

As demand for Maine land grows, there’s increasing urgency to secure continued access for recreation and commerce; to preserve open, shared community spaces; and to ensure sustainable revenue streams for both local and state economies. Support Land for Maine’s Future today.

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In 1987, Maine voters overwhelmingly approved a bond to purchase lands of significance for recreation and conservation. For over 30 years, LMF has successfully crossed ideologies, party lines and motivations to represent and protect the essence of Maine — yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Access

Public land access is the essence of Maine. LMF supports that legacy, securing perpetual land access statewide for recreation, farming, fishing and forestry.

Community

Maine communities rely on public land as a means to explore, to engage, to reset, and to survive. LMF exists because some places matter enough to preserve – for generations to come.

Economy

From acquisitions and easements to cooperative ventures, LMF projects are economic engines that produce measurable returns – with long-term benefits to the people of Maine.

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It’s your Maine. Start exploring.

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See how others are exploring LMF Destinations, land trust preserves, and other conservation areas in #MainesGreatOutdoors, and share photos of your own adventures. Post your image here.

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Passport to Maine’s Outdoors

Thanks to the LMF program, a network of land trusts, and our proud conservation traditions, Maine has hundreds of outdoor places for all of us to treasure and share. This year, invite your friends and family to discover some of the state’s most beautiful outdoor destinations, including thirty-six featured on the Passport to Maine’s Outdoors. LMF Coalition is partnering with the Maine Land Trust Network and L.L. Bean to sponsor this passport. Plan your next outdoor adventure today!

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LMF works for ME

Since 1987, the LMF program has helped to protect more than 600,000 acres of land in Maine. Most of these special places are open for visitors — offering access to great activities like hiking, fishing, swimming, boating, and even ATV riding. Best of all, LMF’s work has been funded by the people of Maine for the past 30 years — which means LMF properties belong to all of us — forever.

Over 150 projects have been funded to date from the Land for Maine’s Future Program. Here are just a few:

Amherst Mountains

Downeast Maine · Hancock County

Located just east of the Greater Bangor Area, the Amherst Mountains Community Forest offers outdoor recreation experiences with a quiet, remote feel. Short hiking trails lead to scenic bluffs and secluded ponds.

Knight’s Pond

Southern Maine · Cumberland County

Located near the town centers of North Yarmouth and Cumberland, Knight’s Pond is a 300-acre preserve popular for ice skating, fishing, dog walking, mountain biking, trail running, snowmobiling, hunting, and more. The preserve includes a pond, a large block of forestland, a network of trails, and critical wildlife habitat.

Ship to Shore

Midcoast Maine · Knox County

Located in Owls Head, the Ship to Shore Lobster Wharf serves more than 30 fishing boats with all-tide access, bait, fuel, parking, and two hydraulic winches with booms. There are roughly 100 families supported from the commercial fishing activities on the wharf. Landings at the wharf include lobster, but in the future the hope is to handle shrimp, scallops, crab, clams and worms.

Coos Canyon

Western Maine · Oxford County

Located in Byron, Coos Canyon is a scenic gorge along the Swift River that has long been a popular destination for swimmers, picnickers, and anglers.

Pigeon Hill Preserve

Downeast Maine · Washington County

This 275-acre Downeast Coastal Conservancy preserve in Steuben boasts a 1.6-mile network of moderate hiking trails on Washington County’s highest coastal summit. From the top of Pigeon Hill there are stunning scenes of islands, bays, and peninsulas.

Scarborough Beach

Southern Maine · Cumberland County

With a long expanse of white sand and views out to the rocky shores of Prouts Neck, Scarborough Beach State Park is an attractive setting for swimming, walking, and picnicking. Surfers routinely ride its waves and surf-casters ply the waters for striped bass and blue fish.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Land for Maine’s Future (LMF) Program. It was 1987 when Maine voters first approved a $35 million bond to purchase lands of state significance for recreation and conservation. The goal of the program remains the same now as it did then: To secure public access for recreation, to conserve our most important habitats, to preserve Maine’s farming traditions and to protect the natural infrastructure vital to both our sense of place and our economic future.

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Latest news

Bangor Daily News: Land trusts get high marks from legislature

Mar 20, 2018

The Maine Legislature’s Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Committee has released its report on conservation lands owned by nonprofit organizations, which it was authorized to undertake by a provision in the General Fund Biennial Budget for 2018 and 2019. The report gives high marks to our land trust community and includes some interesting recommendations.

New Report: Study of Conserved Lands Owned by Nonprofit Organizations

Mar 8, 2018

In 2017, the Maine Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (ACF Committee) was authorized to “conduct a study of the financial and nonfinancial aspects of conserved lands owned by nonprofit conservation organizations, including property taxes paid, community benefits realized and value of lands to the State’s economy.” The ACF Committee’s findings are detailed in a new report: Study of Conserved Lands Owned by Nonprofit Organizations. In the report, all thirteen members of ...

New Report: “Land Trusts Work for Maine”

Jan 24, 2018

For two years, Maine land trusts have been fending off a series of ill-conceived bills in the state legislature, each based on false assumptions questioning the value of land conservation. In “Land Trusts Work for Maine,” MLTN answers critics with actual data and real examples that illustrate how land conservation groups are expanding outdoor recreational opportunities, strengthening the tourism economy, supporting natural resource jobs, and enhancing local communities in Maine.

Bangor Daily News: How to explore Maine by snowmobile, starting in Newport

Jan 19, 2018

If you notice an abundance of pickup trucks hauling snowmobile trailers during the winter in the town of Newport, that’s because it’s a key location to hop onto miles upon miles of well-maintained snowmobile trails.

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LMF: Stronger than Ever