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About Loon Echo Land Trust

Loon Echo Land Trust is a nonprofit organization that protects land in the Lake Region of Maine to conserve its natural resources and character for current and future generations. LELT conserves over 9,000 acres of land and maintains and protects public access to many iconic outdoor spaces such as Pleasant and Bald Pate Mountains, Raymond Community Forest, and Hacker's Hill. In addition to providing access for recreation, LELT's conserved open spaces support the region’s water resources, wildlife habitat, and working farms and forests.

LELT was formed in 1987 by community members who saw the need to preserve the forests, fields, and waters of the region. Throughout the years, LELT has worked with area residents, businesses and organizations to protect land through conservation easements, land purchases and land donations.

LELT stands with the Maine Land Trust Network and land trusts around Maine in condemning racism and working on anti-racism efforts. Read the statement.


Loon Echo Land Trust is accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission. The accreditation seal is awarded to land trusts meeting the highest national standards for excellence and conservation permanence.

financial information
LELT Financial Information
2022 Strategic Plan
Strategic Plan
ABOUT our team

Staff and Board of Directors

Our Team

Where We Work

Loon Echo Land Trust protects land in the northern Sebago Lake region of Maine in the towns of Bridgton, Casco, Denmark, Naples, Harrison, Sebago, and Raymond.

Loon Echo Land Trust recognizes that our conservation lands are unceded lands of the Abenaki people, specifically the Pigwacket and Ammoncongan, who are members of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Wabanaki Confederacy - the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Maliseet, Abenaki, and Mi’kmaq peoples - have stewarded these lands for centuries.

We acknowledge and respect the values of the Wabanaki people and affirm their sovereignty in this territory. We intend to support their efforts for natural resource protection and a restoration of their sovereign rights, including rematriation of land to the Tribes. The Wabanaki are the first peoples of Maine and northern New England, and have lived on this land for over 10,000 years. Wabanaki means People of the First Light, and Maine is the first place in the United States that experiences the sun rising in the east.

It is estimated that prior to European colonization there were between 10,000 and 20,000 Wabanaki people in southern Maine. The nearest known Wabanaki settlement to Loon Echo Land Trust’s service area was in the fertile flood plain of the Saco River Valley in what is now called Fryeburg.

Since European colonization, Wabanaki people have suffered a 96% population loss due to genocide, disease, land dispossession and forced removal, erasure of traditions through forced conversion to Christianity, warfare between Europeans, and scalp bounties. There are at least 8,000 tribal members alive today who live in communities in Maine and Quebec, the Canadian Maritimes, and in diaspora.

Sources: Abbe Museum, Wabanaki REACH, First Light Learning Journey, native-land.ca


2024 Projects

We’re always working on conservation projects behind the scenes. Join our E-Mail list to be informed of new projects. Here are some projects we're working on this year:

  • Otter Pond Conservation Project
      – LELT is working with a private landowner to permanently conserve ~180 acres with frontage on Kansas Rd. and Otter Pond in Bridgton. With over 70 acres of wetlands and habitat for rare and threatened species like the New England Bluet, the property has been a high priority for conservation for years. Stay tuned for more details or reach out to matt@lelt.org for more information or to make a financial contribution to this project.
  • Rolfe Hill Conservation Project  – LELT conserved this 400-acre property located on Quaker Ridge Road in Casco in January 2024 after a years long fundraising effort. In 2024 we'll be working to restore a wetland habitat, manage invasive species, and design a multi-use trail plan for hikers and mountain bikers in partnership with the Casco Open Space Commission and Maine-based non-profit Outdoor Sport Institute.
  • Sebago Cove Conservation Project – With over 2,500’ of frontage on Sebago Lake, this 360-acre property on Sebago Cove in Naples was conserved by LELT in November 2023 after a years long fundraising effort. In 2024 we'll be working with the Maine Conservation Corps to design and construct a pedestrian trail to the shore of Sebago Lake and create an off-street parking area on Burnell Rd.
  • Peabody-Fitch Woods Interpretive Signs – Developed in partnership with the Bridgton Historical Society, a series of interpretative displays highlighting the history of Narramissic Farm and the surrounding woods will be installed in Spring 2024.

    Mayberry Hill Preserve Universal Access Trail– In 2024 we're launching a $100,000 fundraising campaign to upgrade the 0.6 mile Field Loop at Mayberry Hill to a 6-foot wide gravel surfaced trail suitable for use by wheeled mobility devices. The trail will be constructed using the same design standards we've previously built to at Peabody-Fitch Woods and Pondicherry Park.
  • Community Planning – There are many community planning efforts happening around the Lake Region right now. Planning shapes how towns grow and considers the impacts of that growth on open space and natural resources. These processes provide you, as a community member, an opportunity to shape the future of the places you live, work, and play. We are involved in these efforts in Casco, Bridgton and Raymond. LELT is here as a resource for you, your neighbors, and your town leadership. Email maggie@lelt.org with any questions about where to begin, or how to get involved with existing planning efforts in your area.
To make a gift in support of any of these projects, please donate here and include a note as to which project you would like your gift to support. Please contact Matt (matt@lelt.org) for more information.

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