Dear Friends,
Winter is an astonishingly beautiful time to be in coastal Maine. The Land & Garden Preserve epitomizes all that there is to love about our magical corner of the world. As I write this letter, Little Long Pond is just beginning to freeze over with a thin sheet of ice, Penobscot Mountain looms over the pond capped with a dusting of snow, and the gardens are all tucked away for their winter rest. Even in a season of calm and quiet, one can sense the anticipation of the coming summer.
Winter may be quiet, but it is certainly active! We have officially broken ground on our long-anticipated expansion project at Greenrock, the Preserve’s current Facilities and Natural Lands complex, which is to become our new administrative hub. The Greenrock project represents the largest investment in our staff, and the largest capital project, in the Preserve’s history. It will go a great distance to unify much of our team in one centralized location. Construction will continue through 2025, with an anticipated completion late next year.
In preparation for the upcoming summer season, our team is working on a significant visitor experience enhancement project that is set to be finalized in the spring. Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, we are relocating the Day Mountain parking lot, which serves both the Day Mountain and Hunters Cliffs trails. The existing parking lot is located on a blind curve on Route 3, and we have heard the calls for it to be moved to a safer location. The new lot will be located several hundred yards down the road, and new trail connections are being constructed to tie into the existing network.
Another exciting change for 2025, which you can read more about on our website, is the launching of our new dog leash policies on the natural lands. The policies were carefully crafted to benefit all guests: two-legged, four-legged, and those with and without dogs. As a new dog dad myself (Opal can’t wait to meet you next year!), I am both thrilled and relieved for there to be reasonable guidelines in place, and I am especially grateful that the new policies will help us to promote ecological health. After all, we are in the business of land conservation!
As we look back on 2024 and await a year of growth and beauty in the coming year, we hope you will reflect on the myriad benefits that the Land & Garden Preserve brings to your life. Whether you are a regular walker at Little Long Pond or a keen lover of our astonishing gardens (or both), the Preserve greatly enhances the quality of life for those of us who care about preserving the special character of Mount Desert Island. I hope that you will consider supporting the work of our team by contributing to our year-end campaign at a level that is meaningful to you. Thank you for your generous support.
Our team wishes you and your family a season of love, light, and happiness. We look forward to sharing all our great work with you in the new year.
Warm Best,
Patrick MacRae, CEO
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