In the Rangeley Lakes region of western Maine, several conservation groups have permanently protected 78,000 acres around the Magalloway River watershed from development.
Heavily forested, with a cold water fishery, this is an ecologically important landscape that still feels remote and wild. It has one of the last sustaining brook trout populations in the country, so it's a fly fishing haven. But it's also a popular birding destination. And there's a major snowmobile corridor that cuts through the woods linking Maine with New Hampshire.
Even more significant for wildlife facing climate change is that the Magalloway parcel connects with half a million acres that have previously been conserved.
On a sparkling early morning in June, Seth Laliberte and I settle into his canoe at the northern end of Aziscohos Lake not far from the Big Magalloway and Little Magalloway rivers. Laliberte says there's a long history here of people coming in search of trophy brook trout, but he says the salmon fishing is not bad either.
A school principal, Laliberte also doubles as a registered Maine guide. He and his wife own an outdoor sporting goods store in Rangeley. And he's a rabid paddling enthusiast. He thinks it's one of the best ways to explore the North Woods.
"It's easy and it's accessible for a lot of people," he says. "It's just a peaceful way to move around the land."
Aziscohos Lake is narrow and and 20 miles long, surrounded by rolling mountains covered with trees. It's still and quiet. The shoreline is almost entirely undeveloped. But there's plenty of wildlife to be seen and heard.
We paddle past a pair of loons, watch a kingfisher in a streak of blue nosedive into the lake to retrieve a fish, observe an eagle perched on a tall spruce and move quietly into a cove to record a chorus of green frogs that sound like someone is tuning a guitar. If we're lucky we might get to see a moose.
"Even on a day when it's not this perfect, it's still amazing," Laliberte says. "I always tell people ... this is kind of what it looked like forever."
Despite the picture perfect scene, Maine's North Woods are under pressure, from forest fragmentation and development, including from wealthy landowners looking to purchase their own slice of heaven and close it off for their personal enjoyment. And then there's the threat of climate change and what that means for plants and animals already confronting habitat loss.
"There are a lot of pressures on our forests," says Mark Berry of The Nature Conservancy in Maine. "The Magalloway is sort of in the center of a circle between Portland, Boston, Burlington, Montreal and Quebec. So to have such a wild place now secured for future generations ... is very gratifying."
The Nature Conservancy, along with the Forest Society of Maine, Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust and the Northeast Wilderness Trust, helped raise $62 million to conserve the Magalloway. Public access for fishing, hunting, paddling and snowmobiling will continue to be allowed. But Berry says the project is especially important for wildlife as temperatures warm.
"Ultimately, we hope we have a pathway for species to move through the New England landscape and into adjacent parts of Canada and extending south throughout the Appalachians," he says.
Under the terms of the conservation deal, much of the land will continue to be sustainably managed for timber harvesting to support the region's wood products industry. But the Northeast Wilderness Trust has also acquired more than 11,000 acres for a wilderness preserve. Bob and Mary Burr of Mercer say they were inspired to donate money for the project.
"You can have the recreation, you can have the wildlife, you can have some forestry but you can have some special areas that are untouched. I can't think of a better result," Bob Burr says.
Burr made his living in the wood products industry. Mary Burr is passionate about wildlife.
"This allows the real native animals, you know, to be able to have their own space without being infringed upon by us mortals," she says.
The Burrs also enjoy paddling and being in the outdoors, which is another reason they hope the Magalloway will be seen as a national model for conservation.
Back on Aziscohos Lake, a pair of kingfishers chase each other over the water. And as Seth Laliberte demonstrates proper fly casting technique, he says he's grateful that the Magalloway is being protected.
"Projects like this," he says, "ensure that we're going to have access and be able to enjoy this for years to come."
