In early August, Helen Weld and Robert Strachan of Edgecomb donated a 39-acre conservation easement to Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust. 

Located on the Damariscotta River, the land includes 1,100 feet of shoreline in and around Salt Marsh Cove. From the water, the terrain rises steeply 200 feet up a forested hillside, making it a prominent landmark on the river.

The shallow, sheltered cove is rich habitat for wildlife, including clams, tidal waterfowl, and wading birds. The conservation easement will ensure that this stretch of shoreline will remain in its natural state, protecting water quality and wildlife habitat in the cove into the future. 

Salt Marsh Cove, bordered on the south by Bennett’s Neck, was once the site of a salt works where sea salt was extracted from the water. Later, the cove was home to a grist mill, lumber mill, ice works, and a brick-making operation. While these industries are long gone, traces of glass and bricks remain along the shoreline. 

Weld says protecting the property honors the legacy of her parents, Anne and Philip Weld, who cared for the Salt Marsh Cove property starting in the 1970s. Weld shares that the couple’s wish is to conserve the property in order “to be the best stewards of the land possible.” 

A conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement between a landowner and a conservation organization, such as a land trust, that sets a future course for the property and its use in order to maintain its most important natural assets. The landowner continues to own and manage the land, and retains the right to sell the land or pass it on to their family.

Coastal Rivers is a non-profit, member-supported, nationally accredited land trust caring for the lands and waters of the Damariscotta-Pemaquid Region by conserving special places, protecting water quality, creating trails and public access, and deepening connections to nature through education programs. For more information, email info@coastalrivers.orgor visit coastalrivers.org