Last week’s report of a condominium project on Fort Hill Road in Gorham expanding to 224 units, coupled with recent news of housing and commercial development projects in surrounding towns, lends much credibility to the idea that the economic recovery in southern Maine is well under way.

Another indication we’re in full recovery mode is the recent reports that the state’s unemployment rate is at 5.5 percent. Six years after the so-called Great Recession, Maine and the nation should be feeling at least somewhat relieved about the positive economic indicators.

However, when considering the micro-economic climate of Greater Portland, where residents enjoy an ideal mix of some decent-paying jobs and a lifestyle accented by plentiful access to outdoor recreation, we need to remember that what makes our area desirable can be erased quickly if residential and commercial development goes unchecked.

Mainers are all for development, since without a good job no one can afford to enjoy the many recreational pursuits the state has to offer. However, that development needs to be balanced with concern for conservation and preservation. Maine is special, to both visitors and residents alike, because it has open space, which helps to beautify its cities and larger towns. As the economy keeps picking up and planning boards are faced with development pressure, they need to keep in mind that open space, even in a densely populated area, needs to be preserved for quality-of-life reasons.

There are many examples in Maine’s history where progress and conservation – two seemingly incompatible concepts – have shown they can live in harmony. Payson and Deering Oaks parks in metro Portland are good examples of preserving green space in an urban setting. Wherever planning boards require clustered developments in which a portion of a development is saved as open space, that’s another good example of balancing land conservation and development. These are all laudable attempts to save our natural surroundings, but unfortunately do little in terms of real preservation of nature. For that, we need large tracts, on the order of hundreds of acres.

In the towns surrounding Portland, open acreage is growing more rare. Large tracts can still be found, but housing pressures are slowly gobbling them up. In these heady development days, therefore, it’s good to remember why people want to live in our region. Woods and waters provide natural recreational opportunities, and open fields for farmers are a balm for our suburban soul. That’s why we applaud the efforts of land trusts and preservation groups for working to preserve Greater Portland’s last great open spaces. The 500-acre Randall Orchards farm, bordering Standish and Gorham, which was recently preserved by its owner Dick Randall working with the Presumpscot Regional Land Trust, is one great example. In Scarborough, the Scarborough Land Trust is working hard to raise money to protect the 126-acre former Benjamin Farm on Pleasant Hill Road, which the group describes as the last major open space in Scarborough. In January, the land trust signed an agreement with the Benjamin family, which gives them until Dec. 31 to raise $2.5 million. The group still needs to raise another $500,000 to make it happen. We hope they are successful because we’re sure Scarborough residents would regret losing it to condos.

Northwest of Portland, pressures are mounting as well, but Loon Echo Land Trust, which now owns or has easements on more than 6,000 acres in the Sebago Lake region, is in the forefront of the battle to save large tracts. In the last decade especially, the trust has secured vast acreage in Casco and Bridgton, including Pleasant Mountain and, of course, Hacker’s Hill, a majestic peak in Casco that affords an amazing view of Sebago Lake and distant mountains.

An important aside in this preservation debate is that a lot of these ongoing efforts are private, not government sponsored. Scarborough did donate money to the Benjamin Farm effort, but when private individuals or groups provide the impetus to raise money to save tracts of open space, that’s preferable to the use of taxpayers’ money – or worse, eminent domain – as a strategy to saving land. When the effort is driven by grassroots, rather than by government, everyone benefits.

Maine isn’t Maine without its open and majestic space. We have it in abundance in the most parts of the state, but Greater Portlanders need it, as well. It makes life here better than anywhere else.

–John Balentine, managing editor