Although it was bleak by some measures, 2011 will go down in history as a very good year for land conservation in York County. The efforts made late in 2011 to finalize the purchase of land in Wells and Biddeford will benefit local nature enthusiasts for years to come and will be a testament to today’s residents respect for future generations.

Saving the local conservation sites, Timber Point in Biddeford and the Tilton parcel and Granite State land in Wells, required significant federal and local support, and we’re glad to see that donors came through, even in a slow economy, to preserve these lands before they were developed.

It would have been a shame to miss out on these opportunities to keep open space for passive recreation in the heart of Maine’s most populated area.

Timber Point is a 98-acre parcel of mostly undisturbed habitat that is one of very few pieces of such land along the southern Maine coastline. It was conveyed to the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge on Dec. 21.

It all started, of course, with the property owners, who decided to give conservation a chance instead of selling off their land to the highest bidder. The Ewing family should be applauded for this, as theirs was the first move in keeping this land forever open.

In turn, the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund started off the effort with a $3 million award and, amazingly, private donors kicked in another $2 million to add to a $200,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

It seems the opportunity to save this parcel was particularly close to the hearts of many, and it’s easy to see why. With the population growing all the time and the amount of coastal property staying stubbornly unchanging, these lands will only become harder to come by in the future for public use.

Down in Wells, an even bigger piece of land has been forever preserved for the public, and is now to be known as the Perkinstown Commons. Formerly the Granite State land, this parcel is nearly 300 acres and also is home to unique wildlife. Voters in Wells were generous in 2010 to approve $450,000 for purchase of this land and the nearby 108-acre Tilton parcel, and it’s heartening to see that the plans are coming to an end. Great Works Regional Land Trust will be overseeing the Granite State parcel and plans to make improvements that will make it more accessible for recreational use, such as trails. Final purchase of the Tilton property, which will expand contiguous conservation land that it abuts, is expected this month as well.

Though winter has just begun, we can’t wait for the spring thaw to come so we can check out these new acquisitions and would urge our readers to do the same. In the meantime, it’s good to remember that financial support of conservation organizations and local initiatives year-round is what makes these purchases possible when the opportunities arise.

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Today’s editorial was written by Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Kristen by calling 282-1535, Ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.