KENNEBEC JOURNAL • December 29, 2021
The Kennebec Land Trust has acquired 120 acres of the Jean E. (Wheeler) Hewett property, bringing the amount of protected and preserved land under the trust’s ownership to 7,450 acres and providing Fayette more public land for recreation. Land trust members and supporters have already pledged or donated $262,554. The trust must raise another $46,446 through private donations and grants. The land trust is to manage and oversee the land, while the Hewett family will continue to oversee a sugarbush operation. The organization will pay taxes on the land. “Rather than cutting trees every 20 to 30 years,” said Theresa Kerchner, the land trust’s executive director, “we will manage (the forest) to grow big trees.”