None The Nature Conservancy in Maine Press Releases Search All Press Releases Kerry Crisley The Nature Conservancy (617) 227-7017, ext. 316 kcrisley@tnc.org

The River Runs Through It: The Nature Conservancy Protects 370 Acres on Saco River

Purchase results in mile-long corridor of protected land on both sides of river

FRYEBURG, MAINE — October 19, 2007 — The Saco River, the keystone of New England’s largest intact floodplain, winds its way from the White Mountains of New Hampshire through fertile farmland to the Gulf of Maine.

With The Nature Conservancy’s purchase of 370 acres in Fryeburg today, a mile-long stretch of the Upper Saco now enjoys protection on both banks.

The Conservancy purchased the land, which is across the River from the organization’s 600-acre Mount Tom Preserve, from Arizona Zipper. For more than three generations, Zipper’s family has owned this property and managed it with sustainable forestry.

“A river functions best – and provides the best benefits to us – when the land buffering it is managed in a sustainable way,” said Mike Tetreault, The Nature Conservancy’s Maine State Director. “Creating such a large corridor of protected land on the Saco is great news for the people and wildlife that live within this watershed.”

The property harbors more than 140 acres of high quality floodplain forest, made up of silver maples, ferns, vernal pools and seasonal stream beds. Floodplain habitats are maintained by a river’s natural processes, and they provide important benefits to the animal, plant and human communities nearby. As the river floods naturally, its waters scour the landscape, making room for rare plants and animals. The water then slowly seeps through the fine glacial soils and returns to streams and springs naturally filtered and purified, giving the Saco some of the cleanest water in Maine.

But the floodplain and the rare species it supports are being threatened by unsustainable development. As natural areas are covered by concrete and asphalt, the water-purification process is hampered, sending unfiltered runoff into the river.

“The Zipper property is classic Saco River floodplain,” said Stefan Jackson, The Nature Conservancy’s Saco River Project Director. “Its protection, particularly in such close proximity to Brownfield Bog, goes a long way toward keeping this part of the watershed intact.”

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.