Land trust plans 175-acre Prides Preserve

A drone shot of the future Pride Preserve. Courtesy photo

WESTBROOK — Two landowners have donated 175 acres off Duck Pond Road for what the Presumpscot Regional Land Trust says would be the area’s largest preserve.

Florence Hawkes is offering 145 acres and, as part of a residential project he is working on nearby, developer Wayne Nelson is donating 30 acres for the Pride Preserve, which would double the city’s preserved land from 2% to 4% of its total area.

Minnow Brook, within the preserve. Courtesy photo

The preserve, just east of Duck Pond Road, would connect directly to 60-acre in Hardy Pond Conservation in Falmouth.

To accept the land donations and make the preserve a reality, the Presumpscot Regional Land Trust needs to raise $80,000, which would go towards land surveys, maintenance and signs.

“The Pride Preserve project is an exceptional opportunity to conserve land and create a new recreational area in Westbrook that may never happen at this magnitude again,” City Administrator Jerre Bryant said.

“Thanks to the large size of this potential sanctuary within an urban area, the diverse forested land provides important habitat for mammals like deer and fox,” said Rachelle Curran Apse, executive director of the land trust. “Minnow Brook meanders through the property, contributing clean water to the Presumpscot River and providing valuable habitat.”

The preserve would be home to a number of trails, and “traditional uses,” such as bow hunting and fishing, will be allowed, as will snowmobiling.

“People move and stay here because of their love for the outdoors, so it’s really exciting to preserve that,” Apse said.

The doubling of Westbrook’s preserved space is “big for having that quality of life,” she said.

Apse hopes to have the fund drive wrapped up by the summer when the land trust will formally receive the land donation. The trust is working on setting up public fundraising events.

“We really thank the Hawkes family for their generous donation, and we are hoping that people match the generosity. As an organization, we rely entirely on donations for these projects,” Apse said.

Hawkes, 96, spent her life enjoying the land and wants to see it preserved, said her son, Dennis Hawkes. She is a member of the Pride family who settled in Westbrook nearly 300 years ago, lending their name to the area known as Pride’s Corner.

“My mother wanted to keep the property like it is. She was concerned about developments, and that particular property brought back to her a lot of memories of her youth and she spent a lot of time there,” he said.

The Presumpscot Regional Land Trust works with communities to conserve and maintain lands and clean water for current and future generations. It works primarily in Gorham, Gray, Standish, Westbrook and Windham.

A map of the land. The imperfect edges make it harder to survey which contributes to costs, Presumpscot Regional Land Trust Executive Director Rachelle Curran Apse said. Courtesy photo