HARPSWELL ANCHOR • July 28, 2025
Baxter State Park encompasses more than 200,000 acres of wilderness in northern Maine, far from coastal Harpswell. Since 1973, Harpswell has been home to a little bit of Baxter in the form of the Austin Cary Lot on Great Island. That could soon change — on June 9, Maine Gov. Janet Mills signed a bill allowing Baxter State Park to sell the 228-acre property between Route 24 and Long Reach. “The property must be used for the primary purposes of sustainable forestry or wildlife management,” the law states. “The property may be used for other scientific and educational uses that are related to these primary purposes and must allow for public recreational use that is compatible with these primary purposes.” The property consists of 180 acres of woodland, 34 acres of salt marsh, and 13.5 acres of freshwater wetland. The lot adjoins the Harpswell Heritage Land Trust’s 95-acre Long Reach Preserve, and together, they constitute the largest undeveloped area of wildlife habitat in Harpswell.