Great Pond Mountain Conservation Trust acquired 4300 acres of the Wildlands preserve in East Orland in 2005. With several acquisitions since, the property is now about 5100 acres.
The first Wildlands Campaign, completed in 2007, raised $2.86 million for purchase of the property and a Wildlands Stewardship Fund. Funding included a $346,000 grant from the Land for Maine’s Future Program. Another campaign, ending in 2023 raised another $2.6 million to fund land acquisition and the many stewardship projects to maintain and improve a road infrastructure the size of a small town.
Managed for wildlife habitat, sustainable forestry, and low-impact recreation, the Wildlands is a place where you may see a moose while mountain biking, an osprey while paddling along a pristine shore, or enjoy an amazing view from more than one mountain – all within minutes of Rte. 1.
Wildlands Natural Resource Inventory, 2006 by Alison Dibble and Catherine Rees. This is the first comprehensive look at the Wildlands natural resources. It is a foundational document in the acquisition and management of the Wildlands.
Pesticide Use in the Wildlands Why and how we use pesticides.
The land known as the Wildlands is the homeland of the Wabanaki people. Issues of water, territorial rights, and encroachment upon Indigenous sacred sites are ongoing. We recognize that the Wabanaki Tribal Nations (Maliseet, Mi’ kmaq, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscot) are distinct, sovereign, legal, and political entities with their own powers of self-governance and self-determination. We respect Wabanaki stewardship of this land for thousands of years before Europeans arrived, and we are committed to working with them to address management, access, and other issues.