Jon Leibowitz is president and CEO of Northeast Wilderness Trust, the only land trust in the Northeast that focuses exclusively on wilderness conservation. Jacob van de Sande is associate director of land protection at Maine Coast Heritage Trust, which works to advance the conservation of lands and waters in Maine to ensure ecological well-being and foster thriving communities.

On Maine’s Bold Coast sits one of the last expansive forests on the Eastern Seaboard. A large, forested area connected to the sea, the Bold Coast is home to a rich concentration of plant and animal species that depend on the region’s intact ecosystems. These lands are also important to human communities for livelihood and recreation.

Pressure to develop the area in the 1980s threatened the Bold Coast’s natural landscape and public access, sparking a decades-long protection effort. In October 2025, a new wilderness preserve was created to further expand and make more accessible an already large area of conserved land — the Bold Coast Wilderness Preserve, 2,037 acres that stitch together a tapestry of forests, marshes and islands that support the well-being of wildlife and humans.

With its mix of hardwood and deciduous forests and wetlands, the preserve is a haven for wildlife, from moose and beaver to salamanders and wood frogs. The addition of a wilderness area managed for natural processes complements opportunities for world-class human recreation.

The property abuts the 12,234 conserved acres of the Cutler Coast Public Reserved Land (more than 40% of which is a state-designated ecological reserve), meaning that now, the region’s 21,000-plus contiguous acres of conserved forest and coastline feature 20 miles of hiking trails, nearly 25 miles of ATV trails, three commercial and recreational water access points and 7,253 acres of land set aside for nature.

Northeast Wilderness Trust and Maine Coast Heritage Trust set out to protect large, connected tracts of land with downstream benefits. Every piece of conserved land is valuable, but the benefits compound when protected parcels are near or adjacent to others. Why? Because plants and animals can better shift their ranges and adapt to rising temperatures when the landscape abounds with unimpeded corridors through which they can move.

Larger tracts also offer wildlife ample space in which to forage, find mates and raise their young. The Bold Coast Wilderness Preserve is a study in that kind of landscape connectivity.

Establishing networks of interconnected habitat is a critical part of the conservation equation, but habitat quality is equally important. Many Maine forests are managed for timber and paper products, and many support human recreation. These land uses bolster Maine’s economy, human communities and certain species. But historically, they have left little room for another, overlooked type of conserved land: wildlands. 

Wildlands are places where natural processes can function and evolve freely, and are permanently protected from development. Less than 4% of Maine lands currently qualify as wildlands.

The Bold Coast Wilderness Preserve nudges that number up. The preserve’s forests, formerly timberlands, can now evolve naturally into old-growth ecosystems, supporting greater biodiversity and carbon storage and complementing managed forests elsewhere. Additionally, 204 acres of wetlands, never to be drained or mined, will remain home to aquatic natural communities. 

On wildlands, restoration of habitat and natural communities is balanced with human restraint in how the land is used, and management is intentionally minimal. At the Bold Coast Wilderness Preserve, that means gated areas once marked with “no trespassing” signs for years are now open, and non-motorized activities like fishing, hunting, hiking and canoeing are welcomed.

Like so many land conservation successes, this project is the result of spirited collaboration. Northeast Wilderness Trust, which exclusively conserves land as forever-wild, and Maine Coast Heritage Trust, whose lands run the gamut from recreational areas to working farms and iconic coastlines, together conserve many places across Maine. Our conservation strategies are different— but also complementary as we work to meet Mainers’ diverse interests.

Climate change and biodiversity loss demand that organizations like ours band together with intention and ambition. Last spring, staff from our two nonprofits worked side by side, removing old culverts, dilapidated structures and other debris from the preserve to begin the rewilding process and chart a new, hopeful course for this remarkable place.

As land trusts, we also remember that resilience — for people, wildlife and the landscapes we all belong to — increases when we recognize our place and our role in taking care of the lands around us. The creation of the Bold Coast Wilderness Preserve offers a glimpse of a future in which wildlands, managed forests, farms and human communities coexist and adapt together in a changing world.

We believe that is something worth celebrating. 

“Nature Connects” is a monthly column showcasing conservation stories from people and organizations across Maine. To learn more or suggest story ideas, email [email protected].