PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 2, 2026
After nearly a year of fundraising, the Magalloway Collaborative is closing in on the $62 million purchase of some 78,000 acres of western Maine lands that will be permanently conserved for a variety of public uses. The parcel, about a 30-minute drive west of Rangeley, contains 170 miles of rivers and streams and 2,400 acres of wetlands and lakes. It will connect about 500,000 acres of conserved land stretching from New Hampshire into Maine’s Franklin County, including along portions of the Canadian border. The collaborative, which launched fundraising for the conservation project in March 2025, has a remaining goal of $12.4 million toward the purchase before its May deadline to close on the property. The Magalloway Collaborative consists of Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust , The Nature Conservancy in Maine, Forest Society of Maine and the Northeast Wilderness Trust.