PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 21, 2025
On Maine’s Bold Coast sits one of the last expansive forests on the Eastern Seaboard. Pressure to develop the area in the 1980s threatened the Bold Coast’s natural landscape and public access, sparking a decades-long protection effort. In October 2025, a new wilderness preserve was created by Northeast Wilderness Trust and Maine Coast Heritage Trust, The Bold Coast Wilderness Preserve, 2,037 acres, stitches together a tapestry of forests, marshes and islands that support the well-being of wildlife and humans. Less than 4% of Maine lands currently qualify as wildlands. The Bold Coast Wilderness Preserve nudges that number up. The preserve’s forests, formerly timberlands, can now evolve naturally into old-growth ecosystems, supporting greater biodiversity and carbon storage and complementing managed forests elsewhere. ~ Jon Leibowitz, Northeast Wilderness Trust, and Jacob van de Sande, Maine Coast Heritage Trust