Kittery preserves a wealth of woodlands 

An old, discontinued road, blanketed in brittle leaves, cuts between the red oaks, birches and evergreens extending beyond the end of Norton Road.

For 33 years, George and Juliana Patten have walked their dogs in these woods, gone cross-country skiing and watched for wildlife. George recently spotted a moose in the backyard, and a determined beaver has made a comfortable home nearby. Coyotes often keep the couple up at night with their incessant yips and howls, and foxes occasionally find a meal among their chickens and geese.

Hiking across the property, it’s difficult to imagine it any other way. But had it not been for the timely commitment of the Pattens, bulldozers would likely be tearing up the earth and shredding majestic trees to make way for a new housing project.

“We were just really mortified that we would have a road down here and more house lots,” George Patten said. “Everybody can enjoy it now.”

The Kittery Land Trust finalized its purchase of the 86-acre parcel in December, coughing up more than $425,000 to ensure the land will be conserved forever. But it was the Pattens who bought the land two years ago, rescuing the property from development and later selling it to the Land Trust at a price far below market value.

George and Juliana have lived in the large yellow house at the north end of Norton Road, east of Route 1, for 33 years. Built in 1795, the house is flanked on one side by a barn with chickens, ducks and a sheep, and on the other by thick forest and wetlands.

According to Rob Nichols of the Kittery Land Trust, the neighboring property was alarmingly close to being sold to a private developer. A survey of the land found it had enough space for 26 housing lots, which would make for a profitable venture in a rapidly growing town.

But thanks to a successful collaboration between the Pattens, the Kittery Land Trust and the town, the property instead joins three adjacent parcels to form the largest contiguous block of open space in town. Visitors will now be able to hike, snowshoe, mountain bike and hunt on 200 acres of conservation land filled with pristine wildlife habitat.

The Town Council approved the Land Trust’s purchase of the property in November and granted them a conservation easement. The land is now officially owned by the town of Kittery and will be stewarded by the Land Trust.

Federal funding through the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program paid for most of the purchase, with another $100,000 raised through private donations. The Land Trust worked with the Mt. Agamenticus to the Sea Conservation Initiative to acquire the federal funds and received assistance from U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and U.S. Rep. Tom Allen in securing the money.

“We were very fortunate to get federal funding to help us preserve this parcel,” said Melissa Paly, president of the Kittery Land Trust. “This entire transaction hasn’t cost the town a dime, and it won’t in the future, either.”

The path carving through the property once served as a continuation of Norton Road, leading across the town line into York, Nichols said. At the turn of the 20th century, the land was covered with pastures, and trees were cut down to provide wood for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

The road was discontinued in the 1940s, Nichols said, and today the property is filled with second growth forest and vast marshes, providing prime habitat for deer, waterfowl, owls and many other species.

The newly acquired land connects with parcels donated to the town by Grace Frawly and Charles Lynch and another purchased from Janice Armstrong. Nichols said the Land Trust will soon engage other landowners in the area to see if the conservation block can be extended farther.

The Kittery Land Trust, which owns or protects just under 300 acres of land, hopes to balance the inevitable push of development with conservation efforts aimed at preserving precious pockets of habitat. Open space is an increasingly rare commodity in Kittery, with new development projects popping up like springtime dandelions.

“What we’re trying to achieve … is not to stop growth. It’s neither desirable nor possible,” Paly said. “But we do believe there are certain areas, certain lands, that are more significant than others, and those are the ones we’re seeking to protect.”

But the task of protecting any land from the seemingly insatiable thirst of developers is daunting.

“We have very little money, and we’re up against development pressures that push the value of land way beyond what conservation organizations are able to afford,” Paly said.

As a result, conservation organizations carefully target their goals with an eye toward parcels that connect other conservation properties or have special ecological or aesthetic value.

The 86-acre Patten parcel is a case in point. The opportunity for outdoor recreation in an attractive piece of forest is coupled with the preservation of important habitats for wildlife and vegetation.

Next on the agenda for the Patten property is a baseline survey to determine exactly which species inhabit the land, followed by historical research to learn more about how the property has been previously used, Nichols said.

Another project the stewards must undertake is cleaning up decades-old junk heaps scattered throughout sections of the woods. An old stove riddled with bullet holes rests beside the trail, and a collection of tires surrounds the rusted hood of a very old car. Removing the debris will be challenging, but Nichols said an environmental analysis indicated there was no contamination to the woods.

The Pattens, who own a boatyard in Eliot, seemed more relieved than excited about having rescued the land abutting their home.

“I was just paranoid that one day all this would be developed,” Juliana Patten said.

Paly hopes the recent success can be replicated elsewhere in town. Growth demands continue to pervade the area, and negotiating an armistice that permits a share of conservation alongside development requires tireless work and determination.

“It’s a balance, and we’re like fish swimming upstream against a very strong current,” Paly said.