Prioritizing Land Purchases for the Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance

The Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance is an organization that is dedicated to preserving land and water quality in the Belgrade Lakes region in Maine. The BRCA holds land in such towns as Belgrade, Mount Vernon, New Sharon, Vienna, Rome, Smithfield, and Oakland. The BRCA is looking to expand its acreage in and around these areas to better accommodate the public and to promote the ongoing effort to conserve land as part of the Kennebec Highlands Project. The BRCA is currently considering parcels of 50+ acres in New Sharon, Rome, Belgrade, and Mount Vernon. In order to identify possible suitable parcels, we completed a GIS analysis and produced these layered maps, which highlight areas of land that we think might be desirable to the BRCA. Our analysis encompasses human access, wildlife access, and the locations and sizes of parcels.

Viewshed Analysis of the Lands of Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance

The Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance (BRCA) has acquired a great deal of land in the Belgrade Lakes region of Maine and is currently in negotiations on many pieces of land throughout the area. Data available online from the Maine Office of GIS, and data from the BRCA were used to carry out this analysis. One area of interest is Mount Phillip, the summit of which the BRCA recently acquired. There is a good view to the south of the mountain, but the potential view to the east and north is in question. This study analyzed the view from the top of the mountain, focusing on two landmarks: Mosher Hill to the east, and North Pond to the north. The analysis shows that both Mosher Hill and North Pond can be seen well from Mount Phillip. These results could help the BRCA both by adding weight to their negotiations to protect Mosher Hill, as well as influencing their decision whether or not to thin part of the forest on Mount Phillip to open up the view of North Pond that is currently blocked.