WESTBROOK — The Pride Preserve is now part of the Presumpscot Regional Land Trust, thanks to a successful four-month campaign to raise $80,000.
The 188-acre preserve off Duck Pond Road is now the largest protected forest in Westbrook, doubles the city’s amount of protected land and is the largest preserve in the region.
The fundraiser was needed to pay for land surveys and maintenance after two landowners, Florence Hawkes and Wayne Nelson, donated 175 acres for the project.
“We want to give a huge thank you to each of you who supported this project. Through the pandemic we have seen that public access to conserved lands with walking trails is critical to our health,” The Land Trust announced on Facebook. “Pride Preserve provides: miles of forested walking trails, diverse wildlife habitat and clean water, vast open space for families and youth to experience the outdoors, for generations to come.”
The preserve connects directly to the 60-acre in Hardy Pond Conservation in Falmouth.
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.
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