Moose Pond Brook Easement

Conservation Easement

Public Access
Trails
Trailhead

September 27, 2012

The 1,385-acre Moose Pond Brook conservation easement protects a large portion of the Nature Conservancy of Maine's Bull Ring Preserve. Together with USVLT's 416-acre Bull Ring Annex conservation easement and 42-acre Moose Pond Brook conservation easement extension, our land trust helps protect 1,842 acres, or over 85% of the 2,166-acre Bull Ring Preserve in Denmark and Hiram, Maine.

The Moose Pond Brook Conservation Easement is located within Maine’s Upper Saco River Focus Area, an area of statewide ecological significance. In partnership with Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife & The Nature Conservancy in Maine, the Land Trust first purchased a conservation easement on 1,345 acres of this land with grant funding from the federal Landowner Incentive Program (LIP funds). The LIP funds are designated to protect and restore habitat on private lands and to protect federally listed rare, threatened and endangered species.

Natural Resource Values

Several rare species, including globally rare dragonflies & state rare snakes & turtles
71 acres of National Wildlife Inventory wetlands providing significant waterfowl & wading bird habitat
Located within a 9,125-acre habitat block which promotes greater species diversity
Adjacent to other conserved lands
- 347-acre Bull Ring Preserve
- 111-acre Dragon Meadow Brook CE
- 415-acre Bull Ring Annex CE
7,125 of scenic, undeveloped road frontage on Route 117
1,090 feet of riparian habitat on Dragon Meadow Brook, a significant tributary to the Saco River

History

In late 2013, the owners of the Moose Pond Brook property, Howard and Penny Burt, donated a conservation easement on an additional 42 acres of abutting land which they also owned. This second, smaller easement (the Moose Pond Brook Extension conservation easement) preserved much of the undeveloped road frontage along Bull Ring Road in Denmark. In 2022 the family of the late Howard Burt and his wife Penny Burt then donated all of the land that they owned to The Nature Conservancy of Maine, thus expanding TNC's Bull Ring Preserve by 1,387 acres. USVLT and The Nature Conservancy are grateful to the Burts for their generosity and vision in protecting this land for all future generations.

Directions and Access

The Nature Conservancy is working on a new trailhead, parking area, kiosk, and trail signage at the Bull Ring Preserve. In the meantime, access to the property for non-motorized outdoor recreation is permitted. The best access point is off of Kelly Drive, an unpaved road off of Bull Ring Road in Denmark. A small clearing makes for a good parking spot, and a network of woods roads and trails extend out from there. Permitted uses include:

Hiking, biking, and skiing along trails and woods roads
Passive uses like foraging, birding, and nature study
Snowmobiling; trails are maintained by the Denmark Draggers Snowmobile Club
Hunting is permitted by permission only. For more information about The Nature Conservancy's policies and to contact them for this permission, visit their website