CASCO — Loon Echo Land Trust (LELT) has placed into permanent conservation 400 acres of undeveloped forestland in Casco, known as Rolfe Hill.

After a multi-year fundraising effort, LELT purchased the property in late January from members of the Rolfe and Speirs families, whose ownership dates back to the 1790s.

Rolfe Hill has a long history of public access for recreation and hunting and hosts the “Que 5” snowmobile and ATV trail. Now owned by LELT, public access to the property for hunting, fishing, hiking, and other recreational activities is permanently secured.

“The Rolfe and Speirs families were stewards of this land for over 200 years, and we are grateful to them for allowing public use on the old farm roads and trails. We are thrilled that Rolfe Hill, enjoyed by many for snowmobiling, hunting, cross country skiing, and horseback riding, is now protected from development,” said LELT Board Member and Casco resident Connie Cross.

The Rolfe Hill area is identified in the Town of Casco’s Open Space Plan for its significant ecological and recreational importance for residents. The land is home to over 60 acres of wetlands, vernal pools, and a trout stream. Located just half a mile from LELT’s Hacker’s Hill Preserve on Quaker Ridge Road, Rolfe Hill is an important addition to the region’s network of conserved lands.

“The Rolfe Hill property has been on LELT’s radar for a long time,” said LELT Executive Director Matt Markot. “Former Casco town manager Dave Morton was very aware of how important the property was to residents and was a big supporter of seeing the land conserved. We’re proud to be a part of the Casco community and work on behalf of its residents to make sure the lands they have used and loved will remain open for generations to come.”

LELT has plans to improve access to Rolfe Hill through the construction of a parking area and non-motorized trail network. The conservation organization will pay property taxes to the Town of Casco.

Located in an area of increasing development pressure, the 400-acre property plays an important role in safeguarding the water quality of Sebago Lake, which is the source of drinking water for over 200,000 Mainers and many Cumberland County businesses on a daily basis. Sebago Lake is so clean, thanks in large part to its forested watershed, that it is one of 50 surface water supplies (out of over 13,000) in the country that is not required to be filtered.

Rolfe Hill was identified by the conservation partnership Sebago Clean Waters (SCW) as a high priority for protection.

SCW is a coalition of ten nonprofit partners, including LELT, working with the Portland Water District to accelerate the pace of land conservation in the Sebago Lake watershed to protect water quality, community well-being, a vibrant economy, and fish and wildlife habitat.

“This forestland is a vital community resource, not only for the recreational opportunities and wildlife habitat it provides, but also for its important role in keeping Greater Portland’s water supply clean,” said SCW Partnership Director Karen Young. “Working with LELT to conserve this property furthers our mission of protecting the watershed and building collaborative capacity across the region.”

The land is within the traditional and unceded territory of the Abenaki, a member tribe of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Abenaki First Nations of Odanak and Wôlinak maintain reservations along the St. Francis and St. Lawrence Rivers in the Canadian province of Quebec, where they sought refuge following colonial warfare in the Saco, Presumpscot, and Androscoggin River watersheds during the 17th and 18th centuries. 

The property was conserved with financial assistance from the Maine Natural Resources Conservation Program (MNRCP). MNRCP was created to manage the allocation of funds collected through Maine’s In Lieu Fee Compensation Program, and awards competitive grants to projects that restore and protect high priority aquatic resources throughout Maine.

Additional funders for the project include The Nature Conservancy, Portland Water District, onX Maps, Casco Bay Estuary Partnership, Sebago Clean Waters, Davis Conservation Foundation, Ram Island Conservation Fund, The Conservation Fund in partnership with the Stifler Family Foundation, an anonymous foundation, and Lake Region community members.

More information about Rolfe Hill can be found at lelt.org/rolfe-hill.

Loon Echo Land Trust, founded in 1987, is a nonprofit organization that protects land, ensures public access to the outdoors, and builds and maintains recreational trails in Raymond, Casco, Naples, Harrison, Sebago, Bridgton, and Denmark.

The organization currently conserves over 9,000 acres of land and manages a 35-mile trail network across the Lake Region. LELT protects many important local landmarks like Pleasant Mountain, Bald Pate Mountain, Raymond Community Forest and Hacker’s Hill.

For more information on LELT properties, upcoming events, or how to get involved, visit LELT.org or their Facebook page.