Rumford Whitecap

Rumford Whitecap, a bald summit with 360’ degree views, has been an important hiking spot since the 19^th century (documented in a local diary). It also has a unique red pine natural community.

The bald summit, and some of the the hiking trail to it, is part of a 758 acre property in Rumford that had been owned by MeadWestvaco and other paper companies for many years. Mead and its predecessors always allowed free public access. That changed when MeadWestvaco sold all of its timberland in Maine and New Hampshire to Bayroot LLC, a Timber Investment Management Organization. Bayroot started selling some of these timber lands to developers and timber liquidators, thus threatening traditional public access.

Marcel Polak worked with the Mahoosuc Land Trust as a consultant project manager to identify this property and others in the region owned by Bayroot that had the most significant conservation and public values. He developed the primary analysis of conservation values of Rumford Whitecap and worked with the Mahoosuc Land Trust to organize the first efforts to mobilize public support  for acquiring this property. He later wrote a successful grant application to the Land for Maine’s Future Program for public funding. This LMF grant kicked off a successful capital campaign by Mahoosuc Land Trust to purchase Rumford Whitecap and protect it for future generations.

Mahoosuc Region Resources Report

Marcel Polak was hired as Project Manager and co-author by a coalition of local and regional non-profits, including Mahoosuc Land Trust, Androscoggin River Watershed Council, Tri-County Cap, The Wilderness Society, Northern Forest Alliance, and Appalachian Mountain Club.

The Mahoosuc Region Resources Report is a two volume in depth report on the significant recent land use and ownership changes; communities and economy; forestry, recreation, tourism and ecological resources, in a 600,000 acre region straddling the Maine/New Hampshire border. The report also includes an important section on tools for conservation and community development.

The report is being used by the Coalition as part of a well organized local outreach effort in the towns of the Mahoosuc Region to stimulate dialogue and to result in actions to protect the most important lands in the region and to initiate sustainable economic development. Marcel continues to work with the coalition to implement their long term goals.

The full Mahoosuc Region Resources Report is available as downloadable PDF files on

www.mahoosucinfo.org/reports.html

Machias River

The Machias River in Washington County is one of the most important Atlantic Salmon Rivers in Maine. The Machias River Project, the State of Maine's top priority for FY '04, protected nearly an entire river system - more than 200 miles of frontage on the Machias and its key tributaries, as well as the shorelines of two of the river's headwater lakes. In Phase 1 of this ambitious watershed focused project, The Atlantic Salmon Commission acquired 5,772 acres in fee in some of the headwater lakes and the Maine Department of Conservation protected protect through a Conservation Easement 7,405 acres along the Machias River.

One of the only other large private ownerships, over 500 acres near the well known WigWam Falls, was subdivided years ago into 40 Acre+ lots. Marcel Polak worked with a private buyer, as his buyer's broker, to purchase six of these lots from separate owners. His client purchased one 60 acre property with an existing cabin, four abutting lots totaling 163 acres, and a nearby 80 acre riverfront lot. The six properties combined have over 1.5 miles of frontage on the Machias River and 5000' frontage on Mopang Sream, an important tributary of the Machias River.

The client's goal is to maintain the one existing cabin and to place a conservation easement on the entire 303 acres limiting development to the one cabin. Marcel worked with the client and the Downeast Rivers Land Trust to write the conservation easement on 170 acres, which he donated to DRLT in 2003. He will donate a conservation easement on the balance of the land in the next few years.

Frenchman's Hole

Frenchman's Hole is a 385 acre forested property in Riley Township in Oxford County, Western Maine. It abuts the existing State of Maine Mahoosuc Unit, which contains a beautiful and challenging section of the Appalachian Trail and the Mahoosuc Ecological Reserve, a section of the Mahoosuc Unit that has been designated for its unique ecological properties. Frenchman's Hole is most well known for its series of waterfalls and deep pools. The most famous is called Frenchman's Hole and is visited by residents and tourists alike. People dive off the top of the waterfall into the deep pool below. There is 1.3 miles of frontage on the Bull Branch and 4,000' frontage on the Sunday River. There is broad community wide support for State acquisition of this important property.

Marcel Polak was hired as a consultant by the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands to oversee the acquisition of this important property. The work included landowner contact, land appraisal oversight, and writing a proposal to the Land for Maine's Future Program, a $50,000,000 public acquisition land fund created by a voter approved bond.

The proposal was accepted by the Land for Maine's Future Program and the State very recently purchased this special property. It will be added to the Mahoosuc Unit and will be managed through a special collaborative agreement with the Mahoosuc Land Trust.

Intervale Gateway

The Intervale Gateway is 14 acres of mostly fields, with some shrub-scrub habitat and a small pond. It's on the main highway, Rte. 26, at the southern entrance to Bethel, Maine. It frames one of the historical local farms and the Mahoosuc Mountains in the distance, including Old Speck and the Baldpates. As visitors and residents alike drive into Bethel this is the major physical landmark they see as they enter the village. It defines Bethel.

This property and others like it are important public resources for a community. In 1994, while Executive Director of the Mahoosuc Land Trust, Marcel organized and implemented acquisition of this important local resource. The view, fields and other habitat are now protected forever. The fields are hayed annually by a local farmer.

The Mahoosuc Land Trust has since acquired the abutting 4.4 A of pine woods as a buffer and to complement the Intervale Gateway. Marcel organized that acquisition as a volunteer director of the Mahoosuc Land Trust. A management plan to maintain the haying, manage the pine forest, and to benefit wildlife has since been developed by a volunteer committee of the Board of Directors of the Mahoosuc Land Trust. Another committee of volunteers is responsible for stewardship.