MFT-2009-2010 | Environmental Funders Network

Maine Farmland Trust

Purpose: To link the built landscape within a three town region to working farms and wildlands by revitalizing village centers; boosting local farming; and preserving surrounding farmland, forests, and wetlands.

Partners: Maine Farmland Trust, American Farmland Trust, Friends of Unity Wetlands, Unity Barn Raisers, and the towns of Albion, Freedom, and Unity.

2011 Award: $50,000

2010 Award: $49,400

2009 Award: $73,000, 3 year request Read the 2009 Proposal (PDF)

MFT - a working Maine farm.

Maine Farmland Trust (MFT) will lead a coalition of partners in an innovative new project that links the built landscape with working farms and wild lands. The goal is to simultaneously (and synergistically) pursue goals of revitalizing small villages centers, boosting local farming, and preserving both farmland and surrounding forests and wetlands. The focus area for this project includes the “Unity Wetlands” (which is a 45,000-acre tract of undeveloped and unfragmented forests and wetlands—a rarity in central Maine), about 40 adjacent farms, and the three small village centers of Albion, Freedom, and Unity.

At its heart, this project is about landscape conservation. It is designed to keep working farms working, preserve important wild lands, and enhance existing village centers. It recognizes that this work cannot be done simply by purchasing land or easements, and that most conservation requires, instead, active partnerships with land owners.

This project will create new opportunities for farmland owners that will result in both more farming and more profit. Some farmland will be “preserved” by the fact that is being actively and productively farmed, thus removing any eminent threat of sale for development. In other instances, farmers who see a promising future will be more inclined to consider a donated easement that permanently preserves their property. The project will also focus on encouraging better management of local forestland, with similar expected results.

Meanwhile, the project will seek protection of sensitive wild lands (that frequently abut or surround working farms or forests), in three ways: 1) educating land owners about the resource; 2) modifying local land use ordinances; and 3) purchasing land or easements, where appropriate.

This project recognizes the direct link between vibrant community centers and an active working landscape. One of the targeted communities (Unity) contains a small downtown, and the other two (Albion & Freedom) contain traditional village centers. The project seeks to enhance local farming in a way that will link to greater vitality within these community centers.

Possible projects include: expanding Unity’s existing farmers market and community meals program; placing more local foods into local stores and restaurants; restoring Freedom’s grist mill; and creating a grain storage and processing facility to serve the 25 local dairy farms.

Beyond this, the project will assist these communities in adopting new ordinances provisions that will enhance traditional centers, allow in-fill development, and encourage community revitalization.