GEORGETOWN, ME – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) this evening joined with members of the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust (KELT) to celebrate the organization’s 25^th anniversary, and, along with Board President Dennis Dunbar and immediate past President Jack Witham, announce the creation of the Morse Pond Preserve, a 216-acre community land parcel created and managed by KELT. Scheduled to open in 2015, the preserve will provide public access to Morse Pond with a connecting trail to Reid State Park.

“I am proud to join with the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust to celebrate a quarter century of land conservation across Maine and to mark yet another one of its many successes with the creation of the Morse Pond Preserve,” Senator King said. “Our state’s vast and beautiful landscape is one of its most important and cherished resources. As KELT well knows, it’s critical that we strive to preserve and enhance these resources for the benefit of our state’s economy and for the enjoyment of generations to come. I applaud KELT for its outstanding work on behalf of Maine.”

The Morse Pond area is a largely undeveloped region between Route 127 to the west and north, Seguinland Road to the east, Reid State Park and other conservation lands to the south and Indian Point Road to the west. It is part of a 1,862-acre natural area that includes inland waterfowl and wading bird habitat, wetlands, and upland forests.

Funding for the half-million dollar project has come from the Maine Natural Resource Conservation Program, Merrymeeting Bay Trust, The Evergreen Fund and KELT’s more than 500 members. An additional $75,000 still needs to be raised to pay for the parking area, trail work, signage, bog bridges and a stewardship fund.

The Kennebec Estuary Land Trust is a membership-supported organization dedicated to protecting the land, water and wildlife of the Kennebec Estuary, which is comprised of Merrymeeting Bay, the lower Kennebec River and surrounding uplands. Twenty percent of the state’s tidal marshes are found here, the largest concentration in Maine. KELT maintains nine preserves for public enjoyment and has protected over 2,500 acres of land. For more information, visit www.kennebecestuary.org.

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