Pingree Family (more than 100 members), New England Forestry Foundation, Seven Islands Land Company, Forest Society of ME, Sportsmen’s Alliance of ME, ME Audubon Society, Northern Forest Alliance, ME AFL-CIO, ME Forest Products Council, ME Professional Guides, Natural Resources Council of ME, Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust, Ducks Unlimited, ME Appalachian Trail Club, ME Coast Heritage Trust, ME Council of Trout Unlimited, ME Snowmobile Association, ME Sporting Camp Association, ME State Chamber of Commerce, Businesses for the Northern Forest, ME Tourism Association, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, The North American Wetlands Conservation Fund, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Non-profit and private financial contributors included the Sudbury Foundation, Sewall Foundation, Bayard Henry, Frank Hatch, Merck Family Fund, Libra Foundation, Kendall Foundation, Betterment Foundation, and others.

The Partnership acquired a 770,000 acre conservation easement on the Pingree Forest – the largest such easement in United States history. The New England Forestry Foundation (NEFF) purchased the development rights from the Pingree family in perpetuity at a cost of just $37.10 per acre. NEFF is responsible for monitoring the easement.

The easement, which covers 3% of Maine’s land, will help protect:

• 2,000 miles of stream and river shoreline
• 100 lakes and ponds with 215 miles of shoreline
• 72,000 acres of wetlands
• 24,800 acres of managed deer yards
• 12,624 acres of high mountain habitat above 2,700 feet

The easement also includes sites for five endangered plants and 67 state-listed rare or endangered plants, five bald eagle nests, peregrine falcon nesting sites, and numerous other wildlife species and plants.