Boulter Pond Wetlands

In this project, the York Land Trust conserved three lots along Boulter Pond in York, by fee acquisition. The three parcels total 22.7 acres of forested & scrub-shrub wetlands and upland buffer. The property abuts conservation land owned by York Land Trust to the northwest and Kittery Water District to the east. The property is within the watershed of Boulter Pond and has two streams that drain into Boulter Pond, a drinking water supply. The property fringes a mixed Graminoid Shrub Marsh, with multiple standing dead snags that provide excellent habitat for cavity nesting birds. Four species of woodpeckers were observed during a visit by Maine Natural Areas Program. Boulter Pond Wetlands is within the Mt. Agamenticus Focus Area of Statewide Ecological Significance; the acquisition boundary of the York River Division of Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge; and a 6,300-acre unfragmented forest block. Conservation of this property removed the imminent threat of development of an ecologically sensitive and biologically rich area as the owner had subdivided the property and planned to sell for development if conservation did not occur, just as he sold adjacent lots along Linscott Road South that are now developed. The project also expanded the existing conservation lands in the Mt. Agamenticus Region and provided protection to drinking water for parts of Kittery, Eliot and York. York Land Trust will manage the property for wildlife habitat, low-impact recreation and nature observation.