Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Conservation project protects stretch of Maine's Magalloway River from development A unique habitat embedded in a newly conserved 78,000-acre tract of land along Maine's Magalloway {muh-GAL-uh-way} River is beloved by outdoor enthusiasts. National Conservation project protects stretch of Maine's Magalloway River from development August 4, 20264:16 PM ET Heard on All Things Considered By Susan Sharon Conservation project protects stretch of Maine's Magalloway River from development Listen · 3:49 3:49 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5907427-e1/nx-s1-9875172" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript A unique habitat embedded in a newly conserved 78,000-acre tract of land along Maine's Magalloway {muh-GAL-uh-way} River is beloved by outdoor enthusiasts. Sponsor Message Transcript
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
In western Maine, a new conservation project has protected 78,000 acres around the Magalloway River from development. The river is a popular fly-fishing destination. It's known for its brook trout. It is also considered ecologically important for other wildlife. Susan Sharon of Maine Public takes us to a lake there.
(SOUNDBITE OF BIRDS CHIRPING)
SUSAN SHARON, BYLINE: It's a sparkling, early morning in June. In the dense woods, 15 miles from a main road, the birds are awake and Seth Laliberte and I have just settled into his canoe. Laliberte doubles as a school principal and a registered Maine guide. He's also a rabid paddling enthusiast.
SETH LALIBERTE: We are on northern Aziscohos Lake. And we're going to paddle up into - towards the Big Magalloway and Little Magalloway rivers.
(SOUNDBITE OF WATER TRICKLING)
SHARON: The narrow lake is 20 miles long, surrounded by rolling mountains covered with trees. It's still and quiet. The shoreline is almost entirely undeveloped, and there are few people, but there's plenty of wildlife to be seen and heard.
(Whispering) There's the loon. There's the loon.
LALIBERTE: (Whispering) Oh. There it is.
SHARON: (Whispering) Oh, my God.
We paddle past a pair of loons, an eagle perched atop a spruce and watch a kingfisher, in a streak of blue, nosedive into the lake for a fish. On this morning, we are not fortunate enough to see a moose but are treated instead to a jangly chorus of frogs.
(SOUNDBITE OF FROGS CROAKING)
SHARON: Despite the picture-perfect scene, Maine's North Woods are under pressure. They're being fragmented by development and by wealthy landowners looking to purchase their own slice of heaven and close it off for their personal enjoyment. And then there's the threat of climate change to animals already confronting habitat loss.
MARK BERRY: This is one of the largest conservation opportunities in New England in recent years.
SHARON: Mark Berry is with The Nature Conservancy in Maine, which helped raise $62 million to protect the cold, swift-moving Magalloway River, which is in the northern Appalachian mountain range. And this parcel connects to half a million previously conserved acres.
BERRY: Ultimately, we hope we have a pathway for species to move through the New England landscape and into adjacent parts of Canada and extending south throughout the Appalachians.
SHARON: Under the terms of the conservation deal, public access for fishing, hunting, paddling and snowmobiling will be allowed. Sustainable timber harvesting will also continue on much of the land. But more than 11,000 acres is also being set aside as a wilderness preserve. Bob Burr, who made his living in the wood products business, was inspired to donate money for the project.
BOB BURR: So you can do some good in this world that is lasting. Conservation easements are forever easements and forever is a long time.
LALIBERTE: Oh, look at the kingfishers chasing each other.
(SOUNDBITE OF FISHING LINE REELING)
SHARON: Back on Aziscohos Lake, guide Seth Laliberte demonstrates proper fly-casting technique. He says he's grateful that the Magalloway and the surrounding lands have been protected.
LALIBERTE: Projects like this ensure, you know, that we're going to have access to be able to enjoy this for years to come.
(SOUNDBITE OF WATER TRICKLING)
SHARON: For him, being on the water in a canoe offers a sense of freedom, something you can only find in wild places.
For NPR News, I'm Susan Sharon.
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