After four long years, the Freeport Conservation Trust announced Winterwood Farm is officially protected land. The conservation easement will ensure the land will remain available for farming for future generations.

“It has been a four-year-long process to secure permanent protection of this valuable and scenic farmland on Webster Road,” FCT President Kathleen Damon said. “This transaction means that an additional, important piece of farmland will stay open and future farmers will not have to compete with developers to purchase the property.”

The easement is on 38 acres of pasture and woodland, and a there is a 7.5- acre adjacent farmstead that is not under restriction except that it cannot be sold separately from the conserved land.

The farm has soils that are designated “prime” and of “statewide importance” by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Also of public importance, the farm sits atop the aquifer supplying 90 percent of Freeport’s public drinking water.

FCT Trustee Polly Smith said the group had met with some resistance in Augusta, with Gov. Paul LePage putting a stop to Land for Maine’s Future transactions and ending lawyer fees associated with land transfers.

“So, that held up our process for almost a year,” Smith said.

To compound their difficulties, Smith said they were dealing with the federal government as well, which demanded appraisals be renewed every year.

“So, we had to get a renewal of the appraisal and then we actually had to apply for an exception to have that renewal last longer than a year,” Smith said.

With another federal deadline looming, Smith said they approached Land for Maine’s Future and asked what they could do to make the Winterwood Farm deal go through. Smith said protection of the farm was made a priority.

The trust is responsible for enforcing
the legal protection that prevents development.

Bob and Simone Rodgers status as the farm’s owners will continue. The Rodgers said that although the deal took longer than they expected, they are happy to see the land they worked on protected.

“After a longer than expected process, we are very happy to have our land protected forever. We have been improving and maintaining our farm for 26 years. To know that it will not be part of the urban sprawl we have seen all around us gives us great peace and satisfaction. We are very grateful to all who supported us financially and with their time, energy and perseverance. We would especially like to thank Freeport Conservation Trust for their support throughout the process; we could not have accomplished this without them,” the Rodgers said in a release.

FCT Executive Director Katrina Van Dusen said it took several partners to help make this land conservation happen.

“From the beginning, Stephanie Gilbert, a farmland protection specialist for the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, encouraged and guided us,” Van Dusen said. “We have worked extensively with the Land for Maine’s Future program and federal Natural Resource Conservation Service to secure funding toward the easement purchase. Maine Farmland Trust contributed funds to the project, as did the farm’s neighbor, Maine Water Company, and many generous individuals. We are grateful for all of the support — in the form of money, knowledge and humor — that allowed FCT to complete this farmland protection project.”

Juan Hernandez, Natural Resources Conservation Service state conservationist for Maine, said they are very proud of their involvement.

Hernandez said the permanent easement will serve as another testament to what can be accomplished when like-minded partners come together to promote the stewardship of Maine’s natural resources.

“It’s satisfying to know that careful and conscientious planning today will have positive, lasting effects for our environment well beyond this generation,” Hernandez said.

‘Prime’ property

• WINTERWOOD FARM has soils that are designated “prime” and of “statewide importance” by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Also of public importance, the farm sits atop the aquifer supplying 90 percent of Freeport’s public drinking water.