Fall 2025

NEWSLETTER

This year Blue Hill Heritage Trust celebrated 40 years of conservation on the Blue Hill Peninsula. In that time we have conserved 12,788.61 acres of land, which includes 98 fee properties (totaling 8,940.27 acres) and 74 conservation easement properties (totaling 3,844.67 acres). Part of our conservation easement portfolio includes 8 farms along the Rt. 15 farmland corridor. Additionally, we maintain more than 25 miles of trails and 30 trailheads.

Since 2015, the Trust has been committed to offering community outreach to all 7 towns on the Blue Hill Peninsula and we reach thousands of people each year. At any given time we have multiple projects and collaborations in the works. Most take months of planning and hard work, and every single one depends on the support of our community.

This issue of our newsletter highlights some of our current projects and collaborations.

Blue Hill Heritage Trust (BHHT) is delighted to announce a new collaboration with Maine Farmland Trust (MFT) to protect another treasured farm on the Blue Hill Peninsula. Together, we are working to establish a conservation easement on Moon Beam Farm in Blue Hill. Under this agreement, BHHT will hold an easement covering all 56 acres of the property—21 acres of productive farmland and 35 acres of forested wetland along Mill Stream. Once finalized, BHHT will be responsible for ensuring the permanent protection of this valuable landscape.

Conservation easements are a powerful tool to ensure that farmland remains available for agricultural use, in perpetuity. They prevent future development while allowing the land to stay in productive use- supporting local food systems, rural economies, and the cultural character of our region. Protecting farms like Moon Beam not only conserves open space and working lands, but also helps build long-term community resilience.

In addition to the lasting assurance that the land will never be developed for non-agricultural purposes, a conservation easement can also offer financial benefits for the landowner. The donation or sale of an easement may provide income tax incentives or capital to reinvest in farm operations. In some cases, the proceeds can help fund retirement or make it possible to transfer the property to a next-generation farmer at a more affordable price- keeping farmland in farming.

Since 1989, BHHT has protected more than 1,860 acres of farmland through our Farmland Forever Program, primarily along Route 15 in Blue Hill, Penobscot, and Orland. Some of the most well-known farms that BHHT holds conservation easements on include King Hill Farm and Rainbow Farm.

Our Farmland Forever projects are supported by your unrestricted donations. Together, we’re ensuring that the fields and forests of the Blue Hill Peninsula remain vibrant, productive, and protected for generations to come.

Blue Hill Heritage Trust invites you to support and shop from your local farms protected through our Farmland Forever program. These farms represent the heart of our working landscape and the future of local food production on the Blue Hill Peninsula.



Click HERE for a complete list of protected farms.

Blue Hill Heritage Trust’s outreach program has experienced big changes in 2025! We've known for some time that our outreach potential was limited by our staff capacity. It was increasingly difficult to accommodate the growing number of requests for school and community collaborations, not to mention the needs of our established programs. 

At the start of the year, we hired former 2024 BHHT intern, Emily Siedel, as our newly created Stewardship & Outreach Associate. In this position, Emily splits her time about 60/40 between both departments respectively. Emily and her love of learning and the outdoors, have been an all-around welcome addition to our organization. Our outreach team was completed in April, when Brooke MacDonald filled our vacant Education & Outreach Coordinator position. Having grown up and studied in the state before devoting her career to research, conservation and community engagement, Brooke is a wealth of knowledge and a natural born educator to boot. Together Emily, Brooke and I are in a better position to serve the needs of our community.

One of those needs is connecting with young people, especially teenagers (a consistently underrepresented demographic in community outreach). Without strong positive connections to nature, we cannot expect the next generations to be wildlife and conservation advocates. Two ways BHHT is working to foster their meaningful connections are through a modified Forest Days program and the continuation of our recently established Youth Engagement Series.

Forest Days, first introduced in 2019 by former Outreach Coordinator, Landere Naisbitt, has typically served peninsula students, grades K-2, through weekly outdoor play and exploration. With guidance from Landere, we’ve adapted the program to meet the needs of three middle-school classes in the Sedgwick and Penobscot schools. Working with their teachers, students in grades 6-8th, participate in monthly outdoor sessions where they are encouraged to make and record observations, ask questions, and connect with nature in ways unique to their age group. This has included learning about phenology (the timing of recurring life cycle events in nature) and forest ecology.

Now in its second year, our Youth Engagement Series (YES) creatively connects high school students with nature and local conservation. Students gain skills, knowledge of natural history and ongoing local research, and it is helping them form invaluable relationships with the outdoors. YES activities include the following: nature-based film festival screenings, BHHT volunteer trail days, individual class field trips with links to science, local economic/cultural history, and art.

We have seen first-hand how students can increase their environmental awareness through time spent learning outdoors. Our Forest Days and YES programs help students step out of their comfort zones and try new things, building self-confidence, and helping them form stronger bonds with peers. Additionally, studies find spending time in nature is linked to improvements in mood, mental health and emotional well-being. We believe all of this translates to young people becoming informed, involved, and healthy members of their communities and partners in conservation!

If you happened by Bagaduce Falls on the morning of October 18, you might have witnessed an unusual sight: a 28’ foot war canoe filled with people dipping their paddles in unison, making quick progress up the Bagaduce River with the incoming tide! They were taking part in an “Honoring the Ancestors” paddle. Once a throughway for Wabanaki traveling in birch bark canoes that transported them between village sites along the coast and islands, and to hunting, fishing, and gathering places, indigenous canoes have not been on the Bagaduce in centuries.

During the colonial era, the chaos of wars between European nations vying to gain control of both the marine and inland resources and territory of what is now Maine, everything changed for the first people who had called the region home for over 13 thousand years–approximately 700 generations of continuous relationship with place. Although Penobscot ancestors tried to protect access to the coast, islands, beloved village sites, and cherished marine food resources for future generations, ultimately they were reduced to just a few hundred from the tens of thousands who thrived along the coast before the arrival of colonists. Following the massacre of Penobscots at a village at Walker Pond’s outlet–the last Penobscot Indian Nation stronghold along the coastal part of their Homeland–survivors were forced to retreat up the Penobscot River to join relatives in Old Town. They could not properly honor those who were killed that day, and not long after, the Phips Proclamation made it even more dangerous to be on the coast. Access was further cut off in the intervening centuries by the divvying up and private ownership of their homeland.

The paddle on October 18 was a long time coming: an historic paddle to retrace one of the ancient canoe routes, and hold ceremony for those whose remains did not receive proper care and respect all those years ago. Most in the war canoe were Penobscot citizens and direct descendants of Penobscots who had lived on the Blue Hill Peninsula and islands, as well as one Passamaquoddy and one Nipmuk paddler, and a couple allies. They could not paddle all the way to Walker Pond but with landowner permission from Sally Mitchell and Crispin Spencer, two longtime supporters and land stewards of BHHT, the paddlers were able to take the canoe out of the Bagaduce.The Rez Dogs drum group, led by Chris Sockalexis, Penobscot Nation Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, sang the paddlers in, a moving moment captured by Sally and Crispin. The war canoe was relaunched at Walker Pond after the group made a brief stop on Caterpillar Hill to hold ceremony near signage that BHHT installed to acknowledge indigenous history of place, and the erasure of what happened just below at the old village site on the pond. Although they were not able to land at the site, for the first time in all these years they held ceremony from the canoe to honor the ancestors who lost their lives.

The group, along with invited guests, then gathered at a private beach on Horseshoe Cove in Brooksville, to enjoy a traditional lobster and clam bake put on by Ann Pollard-Ranco, Penobscot citizen, activist, and chef extraordinaire, with huge help from Ryan Ranco Kelly and his mom Rhonda Sawyer, both Penobscot citizens, along with Ryan’s stepfather Bob Willette who dug the clams, hauled seaweed and buckets of saltwater! It was an incredibly beautiful afternoon; warm sun, calm seas, and a spectacular view to one of the ancient Penobscot navigational landmarks just offshore; Baby Moose Liver Island. For many of the indigenous people who participated, it was the first time they had been able to access this part of their ancestral Homeland, where the remains of a shell midden and an ancient arrowhead found on the beach spoke of a renewal of relationship to place spanning many thousands of years.

Hopefully there will be many more paddles retracing ancient ancestral canoe routes, the sharing of access, new friendships, and ability to enjoy traditional food, long into the future. In the words of Mark Ranco, team leader, “I was grateful for the support shown by funders, Blue Hill Heritage Trust, and local residents. This exemplified that a sense of community extends beyond the current bounds of the Penobscot Nation, to other parts of our Homeland along the coast. For me, it was an honor to retrace the route of our ancestors, a great feeling to know that we were paddling the same waters of my ancestor, the great Indian chief, Madockawando!” Ryan Ranco Kelly commented, “To be standing on a beach, with the aroma of a steamed lobster feast nearly ready, looking at out Nick Nicholas (a Passamaquoddy citizen), as he walks to the point to get closer to Baby Moose Liver Island. Hard to put the appreciative feelings into words.” So much gratitude goes out to all who participated, and to the Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust, who generously supported the paddle and lobster bake; to Blue Hill Heritage Trust as an ally and fiscal sponsor, as well as providing logistical support for the paddle, and to private landowners on the Bagaduce and on Horseshoe Cove for extending hospitality and access. The glow of this day will be with us for a long time.

2025 has been an incredible year for Blue Hill Heritage Trust (BHHT) and the amazing volunteers who help care for our trails and properties. Over the past ten months, BHHT has hosted numerous volunteer days, bringing together dedicated individuals who share a love for the land and a commitment to conservation. Volunteers share their talents in many ways — stewarding trails, helping on volunteer work days, participating in educational programs and events, and serving on our board and committees.

One highlight of the year took place on September 10th, when staff from several local branches of Camden National Bank joined BHHT for their Community Well-Being Day. The group rolled up their sleeves at Penny’s Preserve and Peters Brook Trails in Blue Hill, where they tackled essential maintenance projects — clearing trails and trimming brush, all while having fun. In just three hours, the volunteers collectively contributed an incredible 48 hours of work! Their teamwork and enthusiasm made a tremendous impact, keeping these trails open and welcoming for all to enjoy.

This event was just one example of the growing community spirit surrounding BHHT’s mission. Through this September alone, the Trust has welcomed over 89 volunteers — a 154% increase from last year. Each person who lends their time and energy helps further BHHT’s goal of protecting the natural beauty and accessibility of the Blue Hill Peninsula.

As 2025 continues, BHHT looks forward to building on this momentum — hosting more volunteer opportunities, connecting with new community partners, and celebrating the collective effort that keeps our trails thriving.

If you would like to volunteer, please contact Blue Hill Heritage Trust Stewardship HERE or by visiting our website.