As a Scarborough resident I can vote to benefit land preservation in town. Please vote yes with me. If we pass this million dollar bond we’ll receive $200,000 in matching funds from the Maine Community Foundation. This is too good an opportunity to pass up.

Because of development pressure in southern Maine, the Scarborough Land Conservation Trust estimates there is only a 10-year window in which to preserve another 1,000 acres in town. It’s a big goal, and will only be achieved through the strong interest and collaboration of conservation organizations, the town government and our residents. The recent purchase of the 46-acre Gervais Farm on the edge of the Scarborough Marsh is an example of that collaboration and of effective use of land bond funds the voters approved some years ago.

The partners in this success were the Gervais family, Friends of Scarborough Marsh, the Natural Resource Trustees for the Julie N Oil Spill, the town of Scarborough, Land for Maine ‘s Future, the Scarborough Land Conservation Trust, the Davis Conservation Foundation and Ducks Unlimited. The land has been given to Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to protect as part of the Scarborough Marsh Wildlife Management Area. This collaboration is a model in land preservation – one we in Scarborough can be proud of.

Now we need to replenish the pot so that when other opportunities arise to preserve land in Scarborough, we can again use land bond funds to leverage participation of other funders.

Susan DeWitt Wilder
Scarborough

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