The Basin Preserve by Beginning with Habitat
© Margaret Pizer Maine_TNC_Basin_kayak
At 1,910 acres, the Basin Preserve property is now the largest protected parcel in the Kennebec Estuary. For comparison, nearby Popham Beach State Park is 530 acres and Reid State Park is 800 acres.
The Preserve’s diverse topography ranges from hemlock gorges and pitch pine ridges to over four miles of shoreline surrounding The Basin, a saltwater inlet on the New Meadows River popular with boaters. The donation of this parcel increases the amount of the estuary under conservation to nearly 13,000 acres and 120 miles of waterfront. The property is among the largest unfragmented forest blocks in the midcoast region. The Basin Preserve includes valuable shorebird habitat and wintering areas for black ducks. The Preserve area was used by some of the earliest European settlers in Maine (nearby Popham Colony was settled in 1607) and has four historic graveyards within its borders.
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