National Forest Land in Success

[Rainman]

While driving to the trail head for the Success Trail this weekend, we passed a new post with a National Forest Property sign attached. This sign was at the side of the Success Pond Rd., along the access road to the trail head. None of my maps show this as WMNF property, and I was unsuccessful at finding information by searching the web. Does anyone here know about this land purchase? How big is it, when did it happen, etc.?
We only saw the one, but we did not venture further north on Success Pond Rd.

 

[nartreb]

Found this in an article discussing a 2012 purchase of about 8,000 acres by TCF in that area.

TCF and Bell were previously involved in conserving 4,777 acres in Coös when the National Park Service closed on a $2.48 million transaction in November 2010. That landmark project used two years' worth of federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) monies to protect high-elevation watersheds and numerous brooks that flow into the Androscoggin River, conserving the north flank of the Mahoosuc Mountain Range.

TCF facilitated the National Park Service purchasing these lands from Thomas and Scott Dillon of Anson, Me., adding eight miles to the Appalachian National Scenic Trail (AT) along its north boundary plus the locally popular Carlo Col, Goose Eye and Success trails and access to them via Success Pond Road. TCF also facilitated acquiring a "working forest" conservation easement to cover 1,200 acres of land adjoining the AT in Shelburne, also from T. R. Dillon Logging Co.

So if you saw a sign on Success Pond Rd, it might be related to that 2010 purchase. I suppose (some of?) the 2012 purchase might also have been turned over to the WMNF in the meantime, but that would probably have required some notices and delays.

 

[peakbagger]

This is very interesting. The WMNF has a declaration boundary, somewhat like the blue line in NYS for the ADKs, the declaration boundary is the congressionally mandated boundary of the WMNF, there are private inholdings inside the boundaries. If there are land transactions inside the boundary, they can be managed locally. Outside the boundary it requires an act of congress to expand the boundary and this generally generates a lot of publicity. The WMNF boundary is on the south side of RT2 in the Mahoosucs area and a couple of miles west of RT 16 in Gorham.

The logical owner of the land that was purchased from Dillon is the National Park Service. They already had ownership in this area and the Dillon greenmail was eventually transferred to NPS.

The actual purchaser of the land initially from Dillon was the Trust for Public Lands. They also own a option to buy much of the balance of Success Township when Dillon is doen stripping it. I anticipate one of these years it will become a major fundraising campaign.

 

[Snowflea]

Seems the Androscoggin ranger station should be able to answer this question. ???

 

[kltilton]

Pretty sure it is either NPS or National Guard land, which is managed by the USFS.