Mount Desert is draped with forests, replete with scenic views, and saturated with a feeling of openness. These resources are central to the community’s identity and to its economy, but they can the threatened by inappropriate changes in the way we use our land. This chapter inventories important forestry and agriculture resources in our community, and identifies the land use changes that could threaten them.
Forest Lands
Mount Desert is known for its thick evergreen forests. Estimates based on data provided by the Maine Natural Areas Program suggest that more than 90% of Mount Desert’s land area is covered by forest. The remaining areas include rock outcrops, shoreline, developed areas, and fields.
Despite the preponderance of forests, they are generally of little value for commercial purposes. Thin soils make regeneration an arduous task, and the dramatic topography makes access to the land difficult.
In part because of these factors, there is little evidence that land in our community is actively harvested. Data provided by the Maine Forest Service suggests that through the last 10 years, only in 1999 were there three notices of intent to harvest – the service’s minimum threshold for reporting.
As of 2004, ten parcels of land were enrolled in the Tree Growth Tax Program, a current use tax program that is designed to keep property taxes on forest lands lower, thereby making forestry an alternative to development. Of these ten parcels, six were on the west side of Somes Sound and four were on the east side.
In total, these tree growth lands totaled nearly 1,900 acres. Two-thirds of these lands are softwood stands and 10% are hardwoods. The rest are mixed stands.
One-half of the total acreage enrolled in the Tree Growth Tax Program is located on Bartlett Island.
In the last three years, one property that was enrolled in the Tree Growth Tax Program was removed for development. This program is designed to require landowners to pay a penalty for removing their land, and this penalty is based on the amount of taxes that were saved over the years. The parcel that was removed paid a significant penalty, but the prices that the market will bear for vacant land more than made up for the assessed penalty.
Approximately one-half of Mount Desert is located within Acadia National Park. These areas tend to have more dramatic topography than the rest of the town, which would make harvesting the lands even more difficult if they were available.
Farm Lands
The face of farming is changing rapidly throughout Hancock County. According to data provided by the US Department of Agriculture, between 1974 and 1997 the number of active farms has increased and the number of households that list farming as their principal occupation has increased. But the size of the farms has decreased significantly, and the products are more likely to be higher value market crops than they were in the past.
Farming in Mount Desert is virtually nonexistent. One property, on Bartlett Island, is enrolled in the Farmland Tax Program, which is similar to the Tree Growth Tax Program. This farm is 153 acres. One other active farm is located on Beech Hill Road, but this farm is not enrolled in the Farmland Tax Program.
Only 6% of soils in Mount Desert are prime farmland soils. In general, the town’s soils are too thin and poor in nutrients to support active farming without significant improvements by the farmers. Locations in Mount Desert that do have concentrations of prime farmland soils include:
- Pretty Marsh Harbor
- Beech Hill Road
- Oak Hill Road
- Somesville
- Northeast Harbor
- lands within Acadia National Park
Issues and Implications
1. While neither forestry nor agriculture play a large economic role in Mount Desert, they are important for the scenic resources, wildlife habitat, and open space they provide.
2. Agriculture, while extremely limited in Mount Desert, is additionally important as it contributes to the local food sources on the island.
3. There is very limited opportunity for agriculture in Mount Desert, due to the lack of adequate soils, and due to land prices being prohibitively expensive.
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