Midcoast Conservancy is delighted to have completed a 55-acre conservation easement on land belonging to Lee Hochgraf in Jefferson Maine. Hochgraf Farm is both historically and ecologically significant. It has been a farm since the 1840s and supports an intact forest that provides important habitat for a diversity of plants and wildlife. Within these 55 acres there are 25 acres of wetlands and significant inland waterfowl and wading bird habitat. Hochgraf’s wishes were to protect the entire property, including 20 acres of fields within an agricultural area, and to designate the remaining 30 acres as Forever Wild.
Hochgraf says, “Having lived here for almost three decades, I have come to realize the incredible diversity of life that this land supports and its broader significance in the encompassing ecosystem. My sons and grandsons have shared with me the joys and wonder of living in this natural environment. I think of a snowy owl that once spent a month here, a white, three-legged coyote, a wandering moose, countless families of raccoons, skunks, foxes, deer, numerous birds both indigenous and migratory, and am thankful that their homes will remain undisturbed. As the trend accelerates to divide and develop large parcels of land in the Midcoast area,I am gratified to know that I have played a small part in securing this place that I love, because once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.”
Running along the Dyer River, this property abuts Beauregard Estate Farm, a Conservation Easement held by Maine Farmland Trust. Protecting this piece of land was essential to connectivity of protected land within the 12 Rivers Corridor. The corridor is an area designated by the 12 Rivers Collaborative, a group of ten local land trusts spanning from the Kennebec to the Penobscot River which have come together to work on projects of significance to the region.
Hochgraf says, “Securing the protection in perpetuity of this special property has been a long-standing goal of mine. I am deeply grateful to have been able to achieve this through the work of Midcoast Conservancy.”