Appalachian Mountain Club makes $18.5 million purchase with The Conservation Fund

BROWNVILLE, Maine (WABI) - A ribbon cutting ceremony was held to usher in the next chapter of the area surrounding the Katahdin Iron Works Historic Site.

The Appalachian Mountain Club has completed an $18.5 million purchase from the Conversation Fund.

They’re acquiring a plot of land, some 27,000 acres, at the Pleasant River Headwaters Forest.

AMC has now purchased and protected 100,000 acres of forest and fish habitat in Maine.

The Conservation Fund has held onto this land for a few years now, and the purchase has finally gone through after it was agreed to in 2019.

“For me, it’s sort of a loss because when we acquired this property, I became very attached to it, and I take this work very personally. I’m sad to see it go out from underneath our wing, but so happy where it’s ending up with the Appalachian Mountain Club. They’re such excellent stewards of the land,” said Tom Duffus, vice president of The Conservation Fund.

Susan Arnold is Interim Vice President & CEO of AMC.

She has been involved with the club for 19 years and is excited for what this means for Maine’s future.

“What we want to do is make the outdoors more available and more accessible to more people because the more you do that, the more people learn that there’s something there worth protecting. And, that’s really where we want to be focused is making sure that these resources are available for generations to come,” Arnold said.

The deal received support from across the political spectrum.

Representatives of Sen. Susan Collins, Sen. Angus King, and Congressman Jared Golden all spoke at the event.

AMC is adamant about continuing their work of conserving Maine’s wilderness.

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