The Chadbourne Tree Farm in western Maine is one of America’s prized white pine forests, with a rich family history and an exceptional timber management track record. With critical proceeds from our first-ever green bonds, The Conservation Fund is leading a significant conservation effort to safeguard more than 15,000 acres of the tree farm so it can remain permanently protected and productive.

Our Role

We acquired over 15,000 acres of forestland from Chadbourne Tree Farms LLC. To extend our investment and the deployment of our green bonds, we joined with the Malone Family Land Preservation Foundation as an investor in the Chadbourne Tree Farm project. As a fellow nonprofit, the foundation shares our interest in seeing this land permanently conserved for its many values.

The property will be sustainably managed over the next several years for the improvement and protection of the forest’s valuable resources, wildlife habitat and recreational assets in keeping with the Chadbourne family’s legacy of exemplary forest management practices. The purchase also will provide time for TCF and our partners — Inland Woods + Trails (formerly Mahoosuc Pathways Inc.), Mahoosuc Land Trust, Western Foothills Land Trust, the state of Maine, U.S. Forest Service and others — to raise the funds necessary to permanently conserve the forests under predominately private ownership.

This conservation effort is part of Working Forests — an innovative program dedicated to mitigating climate change, strengthening rural economies and protecting natural ecosystems through the permanent conservation of at-risk working forests across America.

To fund this land’s permanent protection, we and our partners are seeking support from several public programs, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Legacy Program through the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. We are also working with our partners to attract $7 million in private support to complete this significant conservation effort.

Why It Matters

The Chadbourne Tree Farm, located on the Wabanaki homeland, is ripe with ecological, community and economic value. The conservation of this key forestland will:

• Protect the fourth-largest private forest in the Sebago Lake watershed, filtering drinking water for more than 200,000 residents in the city of Portland;
• Secure the scenic viewshed for White Mountain National Forest and the village of Bethel — a popular tourist destination with an extensive public trail network that is key to the community’s economic future;
• Expand and enhance outdoor recreational opportunities for residents and visitors, supporting local economies and businesses that rely on tourism and recreation; and
• Support a continued source of local timber industry jobs and forest products for the western Maine economy