Topsham-based Maine Coast Heritage Trust announced that Tim Glidden will end his tenure as president of the statewide land trust organization at the end of the year.

Tim Glidden CHRISTINA WNEK

The organization said it expects to name Glidden’s successor in the coming weeks.

Glidden has been active in Maine’s environmental sector for 40 years, having served in 1983 at the Natural Resources Council of Maine and serving as principal analyst for natural resources at the Maine Legislature. In 2001, he became director of the Land for Maine’s Future program where he oversaw the conservation of more than 425,000 acres, including 47 water access sites, 25 productive farmlands and 15 working waterfronts.

In 2011, Glidden became president of Maine Coast Heritage Trust and has led the organization through the completion of over 300 conservation projects to protect over 10,000 acres of land — ranging from Casco Bay islands to Mount Desert Island to Downeast lakes, bays and estuaries. He also oversaw the largest coastal conservation campaign in the state’s history, raising more than $130 million to create more public access to the coast, make the coast more resilient to climate change and connect people to the land, according to a statement from the trust.

While at the trust, Glidden was part of the effort to conserve The Goslings islands in Casco Bay off the coast of Harpswell and oversaw the protection of Long Point Preserve in Machiasport.

“Tim shepherded the trust through some tumultuous times for land conservation and I think the organization and Maine’s land trust community as a whole came out stronger in the end,” Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust Executive Director Angela Twitchell said in the trust’s statement. “This is due in no small part to his consistent leadership and thoughtful action.”

Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine Executive Director David Trahan was quoted, in part, that “thanks to Tim’s leadership, Maine people now enjoy a longer list of conservation areas that welcome hunters, hikers, snowmobilers, and other outdoor enthusiasts in every corner of the state.”