• Birding Path bog bridge

    Adopt a Path

    The Wildlands Adopt-a-Path program has two more trails available! If you or your group would like to maintain the Dead River Picnic Path or Baker Brook campsite path for the summer, contact Steward Brian Keegstra, brian@greatpondtrust.org or 207 812-2044 for the details.

  • September-Gray Tree Frog-Barbara Beyer

    Outdoor Photo Contest!

    Check out our Gallery for a peek at the 2013 Outdoor Photo Contest winners and runners-up! Congrats all! Photos will appear in GPMCT’s 2015 calendar, on sale this summer! Want your photo to appear in the 2016 calendar, and be eligible for prize drawings? Our theme for this year’s entries is ON THE WATER - take photos of your most […]

  • Elia from Albuquerque and Leila from Portland. Photo: H.Krichels

    Please join or renew today!

    Become a member! Please join us in conserving special places in northwestern Hancock County. For maximum impact, consider automatic giving – be a Conservation Leader!





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Support GPMCT

There are many ways to support your local land trust! Visit our Ways of Giving page to learn about becoming a member, making a donation, making a gift of stock or giving in your will. Join our To the Summit! Campaign and help conserve the summit of Great Pond Mountain! Volunteering is a great way to […]

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bird_news

News

NEW TRACTOR IN THE WILDLANDS
On May 15 in the Wildlands, a dream finally came true.  Great Pond Trust’s new Kubota tractor showed up on schedule. This machine comes complete with brush hog, landscape rake, and rear grader blade. It will be used primarily for maintaining roads and mowing fields and trails. In the attached pictures, Steward Brian Keegstra and Director […]
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Great Pond Mtn. hike

Events

Fern ID Fun and Fern Illustration

Date: Friday, 01 August 2014 Time: 06:30 PM Join Connie Tuller, graduate of the Maine Master Naturalist Program, for a two-part program on Maine fern ID and illustration. Friday at 6:30 pm, meet Connie at the Wildlands South Gate for a short fern identification walk to familiarize yourself with local species. Saturday at 9:30 am, learn to paint ferns in the Wildlands. Connie specializes in watercolor, but participants can bring whatever paints they prefer. Connie can supply some materials for a small charge. Attend one or both parts of the free program. If it rains Friday, the ID walk will be Saturday morning. Call Connie at 223-5039 or e-mail farmconn@aol.com for more info or to pre-register.

Summer Saturday Hikes with Sarah

Date: Saturday, 02 August 2014 Time: 10:00 AM July thru September, GPMCT President Sarah LeVine will lead a hike, carpooling from the Wildlands' South Gate (Rte. 1) every Saturday, starting July 19, 10 am. Longer hikes (4+ miles) will alternate weekly with short hikes (2 miles). August 2, hike the easy Bump Hill Path (perfect for younger children); August 9 is a longer walk on the Birches Path and Flying Moose Trail; August 16, take a short walk to explore the Mitchville Campsite; August 23 hike Oak Hill and the East Ridge Path (moderate-strenuous); and August 30, hike the short Drumlin Path that connects Valley Road to Esker Path. A great way to explore Wildlands trails! Contact Sarah at sarahlevine5@gmail.com or 207 667-1293.

What’s happening to Maine’s bats?

Date: Friday, 08 August 2014 Time: 07:00 PM Have you notice fewer bats around the last couple summers? What is happening to Maine’s bats, and why should we care? People often perpetuate myths, "old-wives-tales," folklore, legends, and fears about bats that a surprising number of people believe. Dave Yates will talk about basic bat biology and conservation issues such as white-nose syndrome. We’ll also discuss bats of the northeast, their habits, and what you can do to help bat survival. This program will be at Craig Brook Nat’l Fish Hatchery Visitor Center in Orland at 7 pm, with an outdoor component afterward. Yates, a Research Biologist with Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI), is actively involved with field studies on wildlife conservation and management, and ecosystem health assessment via contaminant screening. He is currently researching bats as an indicator species for mercury exposure, as part of a northeastern US study. This program is sponsored jointly by GPMCT and Downeast Audubon.

Downeast Double Trouble Trail Race Challenge

Date: Sunday, 26 October 2014 Time: 11:00 AM Looking for a fun new running challenge and a way to support local trails? GPMCT and Frenchman Bay Conservancy (FBC) are combining trail races in 2014 for the 2nd annual Downeast Double Trouble Trail Race Challenge. These races will be held one weekend apart, with the GPMCT Wildlands Trail Race on Sunday, October 26 and the FBC Autumn Trail Race on Sunday, November 2. Mark your calendars! Participants who run both races are eligible for a special prize. CLICK HERE for more information.
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The Wildlands

Great Pond Mountain Conservation Trust purchased the 4,500-acre Great Pond Mountain Wildlands in 2005, and is adding another 200 acres in 2012/13. GPMCT manages the Wildlands for wildlife habitat, recreation, education and sustainable forestry. The property is open to the public year-round for a variety of uses.

Visit the About the Wildlands page to get an overview on the Wildlands property and its purchase, and allowable uses.

Visit the Wildlands Maps and Guidelines page to download a Wildlands map or a hiking guide, or to link to the Bucksport Family Snowmobile Club map.

Have a question about how the Wildlands is managed or what’s there? At the Wildlands Policies and Plans page, you can download our Hunting Policy or look at our Natural Resource Inventory or Wildlands Management Plan.

Click to Download

Maps

Wildlands maps are available online on the Wildlands Maps & Guidelines page or at the Wildlands gates, when we can stock them. NEW this summer, get your 18×20″ full color Wildlands Trail Guide, with a big map, trail descriptions and fun family adventures. To get your copy, send $3 and an SASE to GPMCT, PO Box […]

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Copy of IMG_4118

Letterboxing

Following an old European tradition, eight letterboxes have now been placed in the Great Pond Mountain Wildlands.  To find letterboxes, follow directions provided on cards at the North and South Gate kiosks, or download by clicking LB Clues-FullPage. Inside the wooden letterbox, you’ll find a waterproof box with supplies for recording your visit. Follow the […]

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Baker Brook Shelter

Camping

The Wildlands is open for camping year-round at two designated campsites. Baker Brook is only about a mile’s hike from North Gate, and is suitable for small or large groups with a lean-to and 3-4 tent sites, plus a pit toilet and fire ring. Mitchville is about 1.5 miles from South Gate, and is ideal […]

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7SumDomina.mtnview

Hiking

Discover Wildlands Hiking – 15 miles of gravel trails open year-round to hikers, bicyclists, equestrians and snowmobilers. To get away from it all, take a quiet footpath to the top of Flag Hill, the shore of Dead River, or the summit of kid-friendly Bump Hill. Dogs allowed ON LEASH. Visit our Maps and Guidelines page […]

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SouthGate

Find it

Driving Directions to the Wildlands: To South Gate, Rte. 1, East Orland: From downtown Bucksport, follow Rte. 1 north 8 miles to Wildlands South Gate (just south of Rte. 176 intersection). From Blue Hill peninsula, follow Rte. 15 north to Rte. 1, turn right, follow Rte. 1 north for 3.9 miles. From downtown Ellsworth, follow […]

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