Town Forests and Tree Growth
Most towns own woodlands. Often these properties have been acquired over time through the tax foreclosure process as landowners abandoned ownership rather than pay property taxes.
Towns can play a leading role by managing their woodlands as demonstration forests. Shapleigh is a leader in this regard. Starting with woods that grew up around Town Farm, the 19th century version of a homeless shelter, Shapleigh began tending its woods with an eye to the future. The income from timbersales were put toward acquiring additional acreage. Today, the Shapleigh Town Forest is more than 500 acres and is traversed by a lovely hiking trail. In March 2008, Shapleigh voters agreed to protect their Town Forest as a working forest forever by putting it under a conservation easement.
Towns also play an imporant role in managing the Tree Growth program, a state program that provides reimbursement to municipalities for the lower property taxes assessed on property enrolled in the Tree Growth program. The program is available to landowners who commit to keeping their woods as part of the working forest. By providing landowners with an incentive to grow trees, the program is a valuable as both a land conservation program and as an economic development tool. Land in the ten-town Forest Works! region that is enrolled in Tree Growth program supports 370 jobs, according to an analysis by Maine's Department of Labor.
Towns can play a leading role by managing their woodlands as demonstration forests. Shapleigh is a leader in this regard. Starting with woods that grew up around Town Farm, the 19th century version of a homeless shelter, Shapleigh began tending its woods with an eye to the future. The income from timbersales were put toward acquiring additional acreage. Today, the Shapleigh Town Forest is more than 500 acres and is traversed by a lovely hiking trail. In March 2008, Shapleigh voters agreed to protect their Town Forest as a working forest forever by putting it under a conservation easement.
Towns also play an imporant role in managing the Tree Growth program, a state program that provides reimbursement to municipalities for the lower property taxes assessed on property enrolled in the Tree Growth program. The program is available to landowners who commit to keeping their woods as part of the working forest. By providing landowners with an incentive to grow trees, the program is a valuable as both a land conservation program and as an economic development tool. Land in the ten-town Forest Works! region that is enrolled in Tree Growth program supports 370 jobs, according to an analysis by Maine's Department of Labor.
