AUGUSTA — Over the past 30 years, the Land for Maine’s Future program has protected some of Maine’s favorite recreational and natural areas, and now you can easily locate many of these areas with LMF’s new, easy to use interactive map.
“We wanted to showcase the fantastic sites Mainers and visitors can enjoy, areas where you can hike, bike, fish, hunt, canoe and kayak; areas where anyone can enjoy Maine’s great outdoors,” said Sarah Demers, Director of the LMF program. “This map is a wonderful tool for anyone who enjoys being outside; it’s sortable, searchable, and available on your smartphone.”
Accessing the map is easy. Just visit https://www.maine.gov/dacf/
The site is not a complete list of the projects protected over the last 30 years. Working farms have been omitted as have some working waterfront sites. Future efforts may include reaching out to working farms protected with an LMF-funded easement to determine their interest in being added to the site. Additional projects will be added to the site as they become available.
The new map is designed to inform people about the LMF program and its role in protecting Maine’s recreational and natural areas. The program was reviewed by the Legislature in 2015 as part of the Government Evaluation Act. This evaluation included a recommendation to improve public awareness and use of lands acquired with LMF funds. Details of the report are at https://www.maine.gov/dacf/
The Land for Maine’s Future Program is the State of Maine’s primary funding vehicle for conserving land for its natural and recreational value. The program was established in 1987 when Maine citizens voted to fund $35 million to purchase lands of statewide importance.
Over the past 30 years, the Land for Maine’s Future Program has assisted in the protection of 54 water access sites, 40 farms totaling more than 9,700 acres, 24 commercial working waterfront properties, more than 1,200 miles of shore lands, 58 miles of former railroad corridors for recreational trails and over 570,000 acres of conservation and recreation lands including 332,000 acres of working lands with permanent conservation easements.
–Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
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