Forest City breaks ground

    The Woodie Wheaton Land Trust has broken ground on construction of its first organizational home, the Woodie Wheaton Land Trust Center, in Forest City. The building will provide office and meeting facilities for the land trust, serve as a base for educational outreach, and be available for use by other community groups in Washington and Aroostook counties as well as neighboring New Brunswick.
    Since 1994 the land trust has been the primary force behind conservation of more than 100 miles of undeveloped shoreline on the U.S. side of Spednic Lake and the St. Croix River. More recently, the group acquired Greenland Island in East Grand Lake. A fundraising campaign is planned to retire the property’s mortgage loan and establish a small stewardship fund.
    Without a central office, these achievements have been the result of volunteers working from homes and sporting camps. Construction of the Woodie Wheaton Land Trust Center serves is a concrete symbol of the organization’s long-term commitment to protecting the lands and waters of the Chiputneticook chain of lakes.
    Many generous contributions from individuals and foundations have brought the land trust to the point where it can begin construction. At the same time, more funds are needed to complete the project. The C.F. Adams Charitable Trust has offered to match all “new member” contributions toward the project (up to a total of $25,000) that are received by the land trust by the end of this year. A similar challenge for support from existing members has already been met.  
    For more information on the Woodie Wheaton Land Trust, call the offsite office, 319-7652, or visit its Web site at www.woodiewheaton.org.