Land Trust Acquires New Preserve
HARPSWELL—Helen and Walter Norton have given the Harpswell Heritage Land Trust 40 acres of land in Harpswell Center. Known as the Hackett Land, the property had been under a conservation easement held by the Trust since the year 2000.
The purpose of the gift is to preserve an historically important open space in Harpswell Center, maintain important wildlife habitat, protect the scenic and ecological character of the land’s fields and forest, and allow public use of the land for low impact recreation.
The property includes 36 acres of fairly open mixed woods, and 3 acres of fields. The land is visible from the Harpswell Neck Road as the backdrop to the historic Tarr-Hackett House and the Old Town Meeting House and Cemetery.
Walter ‘Doc’ Phillips, Chair of the Trust’s Lands Committee, said “We are grateful to the Nortons for their gift. Public access to Harpswell’s natural world and shore has always been a high priority of the Trust. While the previous easement protected the significant natural values of the land, we can now make its beauty available to the general public. ”
The Trust intends to create a trail system for public use on the property.