Conservation projects in Augusta, Fayette and Belgrade will benefit from money released from the Bingham wind energy project and Friends of Maine’s Mountains, according to a Friday news release from both groups.

The money comes from a $2.5 million fund established in 2015, with the first $1.5 million being distributed that year. Now the city of Augusta, the town of Fayette and the Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance also will be among the groups to receive grants. Others are Atlantic Salmon Federation, the Coastal Mountains Land Trust, the Forest Society of Maine, the Freeport Conservation Trust, the Mahoosuc Land Trust, the Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust, Maine Huts & Trails, Project SHARE, the Western Foothills Land Trust, and the Bureau of Parks and Lands.

The amount of the grants awarded to each entity was not announced Friday, but the total awarded was $1 million.

Money awarded to the Belgrade group helped pay for the acquisition of Kimball Pond in the Kennebec Highlands, according to the news release. In Fayette, the town will use the money to make a wheelchair-accessible trail in the Parker Pond Headland properties; and in Augusta, the money will help support the Bond Brook Recreation Area.

“In addition to being part of helping to conserve 300 acres in the heart of Maine’s capital city, the award will assist with the continued investment in the parkland’s infrastructure that will allow the residents and visitors to continue to enjoy this parkland,” said Leif Dahlin, Augusta community services director, in a prepared statement.

The Bingham wind project is in Somerset and Piscataquis counties. It began commercial operation in December 2016.

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