SKOWHEGAN — A long-planned deal that would give the National Park Service 1,845 acres of forest next to the Appalachian Trail corridor in Somerset County hit a snag Wednesday when a majority of the county commissioners objected to it.

The nonprofit land trust facilitating the transaction had asked the county to express its lack of objection, a requirement imposed at the last minute by the federal government before it would approve more than $2 million in funding for the conservation project.

But three of the five Somerset County commissioners said at their regular meeting Wednesday in Skowhegan they would not support the county issuing a “no objection” letter, largely because the acquisition would close the area to hunting.

Their decision, which could change in the coming days as the commissioners review more information, puts the chance to permanently conserve the land in jeopardy, according to those spearheading the project.

The Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit, asked Somerset County to issue the “no objection” letter so it could proceed with its purchase of 1,845 acres east of Moxie Pond and north of the Appalachian Trail.

Weyerhaeuser Co. is selling the land, which is in Bald Mountain Township T2 R3, a remote area east of Caratunk.

The trust is working as a middleman of sorts to acquire the land for the National Park Service. Once protected, the trust says the land would become part of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.

Ed Clark, the superintendent of the national scenic trail, said at Wednesday’s commissioners’ meeting that this kind of arrangement is common, as it allows for faster acquisitions than if the purchase were to go directly through the slow-moving federal bureaucracy.

The Trust for Public Land has been working to acquire the land at fair market value, relying heavily on a $2.1 million grant from the national Land and Water Conservation Fund, said Lynnette Batt, a Farmington-based senior project manager for the trust.

The trust applied for the Land and Water Conservation Fund grant about two years ago and was slated to receive the funding this year, Batt said. The funding was approved during President Donald Trump’s first term, so it is not expected to be frozen amid other recent federal spending halts.

About a dozen other projects across the country are to receive this round of funding for land acquisitions, Clark said.

The land in Somerset County buffers about 5 miles of the Appalachian Trail, Batt said, and the trust would continue allowing access for fishing on Moxie Pond.

Also as part of the project, an easement protecting a key north-south ATV and snowmobile connector trail would be conveyed to the state, she said.

The acquisition would result in the loss of about $3,000 in county property tax revenue per year, Batt said.

But David Spencer, manager of Somerset County’s unorganized territories, told commissioners the federal government gives the county a yearly payment in lieu of taxes for the trail corridor land it owns in the county.

The project went before the county commissioners only because about a week ago, federal officials added the new requirement for local and state governments to express their lack of objection for the projects, Batt and Clark said.

Clark called it a “hot off the presses” requirement from the U.S. Department of the Interior. Senior officials in the administration set a deadline of Thursday, he said.

The state has already issued its letter of no objection for this project, Batt and Clark said.

Batt urged commissioners to consider that the project would preserve the snowmobile and ATV trail, even though the park service would close the area to hunting due to the scenic trail designation.

“This is really our best bet, I think, to get the most win-win-wins out of this,” Batt told commissioners.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund grant can be used only to acquire land for the park service, she said.

If the Park Service deal does not work out, the Trust for the Public Land could still try to buy some or all of the land itself or on behalf of another conservation group, but that would restart its fundraising process and revisit the purchase agreement with Weyerhaeuser, Batt said.

And that would leave open more uncertainty about access to the land in the future, whether for hunting or recreational trail access.

“If that doesn’t happen, the trail could be shut down potentially in the future,” Batt said. “And if it gets sold to another conservation entity, we don’t know what that outcome would be.”

Commission Chairman Robert Sezak, the District 1 commissioner from Fairfield, said he was concerned about the closure of the area to hunting under the national scenic trail designation but was willing to move ahead with the no objection letter. District 4 Commissioner John Alsop, of Cornville, also had no objections.

“It’s not as if we’re shutting off the entire North Maine Woods to hunting,” said Alsop, who added he was interested to know if there is in any data on how many people hunt on the parcel. “There’s a tradeoff.”

Spencer, the unorganized territories manager, told the board the benefit of preserving the ATV and snowmobile trail would outweigh the loss of hunting.

“I don’t like the loss of hunting in this 1,800 acres, but there’s a lot of hunting in Maine,” he said.

Christian Savage, Somerset Economic Development Corp. executive director, also told the commissioners to consider the economic impacts of ensuring the trail remains open to motorized traffic.

“Economically, what’s a bigger driver?” Savage said. “A trail system, ideally year-round, or hunting?”

CONCERS OVER LOSS OF HUNTING

District 5 Commissioner Joel Stetkis, of Canaan, said he believes many people hunt moose, rabbit and bear in the area and wanted to know if there was any other arrangement in which another conservation group could buy the land, both allowing for hunting and keeping the motorized trail open.

District 3 Commissioner Scott Seekins, of St. Albans, said he was more concerned with what he sees as a trend of groups like land trusts buying land and then closing them to traditional uses.

“When you’re in situations like this, whoever is taking control of this has the freedom to restrict everything and anything they want to from that point on,” he said. “And I won’t ever promote something like that.”

District 2 Commissioner Cyprien Johnson, of Madison, said he also has observed more land-use restrictions being put in place.

“I see it every day,” he said.

Johnson also asked for more information about whether neighboring parcels, such as one owned by the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, allow hunting.

The commissioners agreed to seek more information in the coming days and follow up individually with County Administrator Tim Curtis to make a final decision on whether to send the no objection letter.

Curtis said a formal vote at a public meeting is not required because the Trust for Public Land is not seeking the county’s official support, just an email stating the county has no objection.

Clark, the Appalachian Trail superintendent, told the board after Wednesday’s vote that delaying the decision beyond Thursday’s deadline puts funding for the acquisition at risk. Federal officials are looking to approve about a dozen acquisitions all at once, he said.

“I could probably do a song and dance for a couple of days, if you guys need some more information,” Clark said. “But again, as we become the outlier, the fish-or-cut-bait moment gets more real.”