• pause
  • Maine’s director of conservation programs Barbara Vickery has had Number 5 Bog on her wish list of conservation for more than 25 years. This fall, the Conservancy protected the last vulnerable portions of this vast wetland. © Sean Fitzpatrick / TNC
  • Hiking into Number 5 Bog, one of the largest, most diverse and least disturbed peatlands in the Eastern U.S. © David McLain
  • A 12-foot bed of red peat moss covers most of Number 5 Bog, creating the sensation of walking on a waterbed for the adventurous hiker. © Sean Fitzpatrick / TNC
  • Arriving at the edge of a pond in Number 5 Bog. A remarkable array of natural communities, from the soaking wet to the very dry, converge in the bog—including ribbed fen, white pine forest, open cedar fen and jack pine forest. © David McLain
  • Bog cranberries clinging to vines. © David McLain
  • Pitcher plant. Insects attracted by the pitcher plant’s nectar get caught in the plant’s stiff hairs and slide into the liquid, where they drown. The plant then absorbs nutrients from the insects' bodies. © Sean Fitzpatrick / TNC
  • Pitcher plant flower and mosquito. © Sean Fitzpatrick / TNC
  • Cottongrass, a wetland sedge with wispy white plumes. © Sean Fitzpatrick / TNC
  • Purple-fringed orchid. © Sean Fitzpatrick / TNC
  • Grass Pink. © Sean Fitzpatrick / TNC
  • Sheep laurel. © Sean Fitzpatrick / TNC
  • Jack pine. Number 5 bog contains Maine’s only extensive jack pine forest community away from the coast. © Sean Fitzpatrick / TNC
  • An island of trees rises amidst the bog. © Sean Fitzpatrick / TNC
  • Barbara Vickery surveys the new preserve as the rain began to fall. © Sean Fitzpatrick / TNC
  • Barbara’s husband Peter Vickery looks for open country birds, such as Northern Harrier, which frequent the bog. © Sean Fitzpatrick / TNC
The Nature Conservancy in Maine
Journey to No. 5 Bog!