Staff Writer

    As she walked along a rutted dirt path through the woods near the ocean, Susan Amons marveled at the swath of land that has remained nearly untouched for generations.

“This is pretty spectacular,” the Biddeford resident said as she looked toward a stand of ferns shimmering in the late afternoon light.

The land, known as Timber Point, sits at the end of Granite Point Road in Biddeford. Conservation groups are working to buy the land from the Ewing family, which has owned the peninsula and 13-acre island since the 1920s.

The Trust for Public Land, Kennebunkport Conservation Trust, Maine Coast Heritage Trust and Friends of Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge are working together to add Timber Point to the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge.

The Ewing family agreed several years ago to sell all but 13 acres of their land to the refuge for $5.125 million. The agreement will allow 97 acres – including a 13-acre island – to be permanently protected.

But, said Wolfe Tone, director of the Maine office of The Trust for Public Land, time is running out to make the deal happen.

The conservation groups secured $3 million toward the purchase price from the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund. More than $325,000 has been raised through private sources, leaving $1.6 million to raise by Sept. 15.

Tone said conversations with the Ewing family about conserving the land began at least five years ago. Though they could have sold the land on the private market, “the family chose to give conservation a chance,” he said.

Bill Durkin, president of the Friends of Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, said Timber Point is unique and is one of the last large parcels of land under single ownership along the 50-mile coastline between Cape Elizabeth and Kittery.

Timber Point is an ideal habitat for a wide variety of wildlife and migratory birds, Durkin said. Habitats are diverse and include shrubby wetlands, early successional thickets and grassy openings, forested wetlands and mature white pine forests. The area is a nesting, feeding and staging habitat for piping plover and 55 species of fish live in nearby estuaries and streams.

Durkin said Timber Point is special to Biddeford and Kennebunkport because generations of residents and visitors have enjoyed the view of open land. The property has two houses – one will remain with the Ewing family – and a handful of small sheds. The area has been settled since at least the 1700s and was used as farmland for generations, he said. No decision has been made about what will be done with the second house.

Members of the Ewing family “have been great stewards of the land,” Durkin said.

Amons, who lives in a neighborhood near Timber Point, said the Ewing family has always generously allowed locals to walk on their beach. She said Reed Rumery, an 87-year-old lobsterman, shared with her a story about Timber Point’s importance to local farms.

Before cars and trucks made quick work of the trip from downtown Biddeford to the coast, farmers would travel by horse and buggy from South Street to Timber Point. There, farmers would load their carts with seaweed and salt hay from the salt marsh. Because the trip back to town was so long, they would bunk in the barn overnight, Amons said.

During a site walk across the property last week, Durkin said conservation will allow many people to see the peninsula for the first time. After conservation is complete, the protected land will be owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which will manage the property. The land will then be open for the first time for people to walk and spot wildlife.

“You really can’t believe you’re in southern Maine when you’re out here,” Durkin said.

After conservation is complete, the area will remain largely the same as it is now, Tone said.

“The refuge is not going to turn this into a destination Mecca,” he said. “We want people to enjoy it, but it’s habitat first.”

Tone – who calls Timber Point “strikingly beautiful” – said conservation of the area will help protect water quality in an area where beaches are a critical part of the economic engine. That, he said, is just one of the reasons that makes conserving the land important.

“This is a one-time opportunity that generations of people will thank us for,” he said. 

Tom Bradbury, executive director of Kennebunkport Conservation Trust, said the property “is just unique in so many ways.” He said it has a positive impact on the area because it remains undeveloped. Timber Point is across the Little River from Goose Rocks Beach, but many residents have emotional ties to the view, he said.

“If you live at Goose Rocks Beach and you look out to sea, what you see is that wooded shoreline and the island,” Bradbury said. “It’s etched in people’s minds. That thought of helping a scenic vista stay as it has always been is very appealing.”                   

Site walks at Timber Point are scheduled for 1 p.m. July 12 and 5:30 p.m. July 26. The Kennebunkport Conservation Trust will host a presentation on the project at 7 p.m. July 15 at the Community House in Kennebunkport.

Bradbury said Kennebunkport residents can call him at 967-3465 if they are interested in hosting a meeting to generate donations for the project.

Donations can be made through The Trust for Public Land or Kennebunkport Conservation Trust. For more information, call 772-7424 or 967-3465 or go to www.tpl.org/maine or www.kporttrust.org.