Bear-Paw is an independent, non-profit land trust committed to ensuring that the region's most important natural resources - clean water, native wildlife and plant habitat, working farms and forests, recreational opportunities, and scenic vistas - continue to be available for future generations.

Bear-Paw's land conservation efforts protect:

• Key wildlife habitats and associated native wildlife species, including the full array of representative habitats that occur in the Bear-Paw region including
  • Large unfragmented habitat blocks and matrix forest types such as Appalachian oak-pine forests
  • High Value habitat features such as wildlife travel corridors, riparian areas, wetlands, south-facing slopes, vernal pools, old growth forests, grasslands, and higher elevation areas

• Greenways that maintain links between existing conservation lands such as state parks, town-owned conservation lands, and permanently protected private lands

• Watersheds that harbor important wetland complexes, diverse aquatic animal communities, and other water resources such as
  • Wetland complexes and vernal pools
  • River and stream systems
  • Lakes and ponds
  • Riparian areas along undeveloped shorelines
  • Land above stratified drift aquifers and within the zones of contribution of public water supply wells

• Natural plant communities, rare plant populations, and areas of high biological diversity

• Important farmland soils and working agricultural lands

• Working forests that can provide sustainably managed and harvested forest products

• Recreational and scenic resources including trail corridors, scenic views, and historically important sites

Our primary focus is to identify landowners in our priority areas that are interested in land protection and to assist them in accomplishing their land conservation goals through the use of reliable, voluntary techniques such as conservation easements. Conservation easements restrict the future development of land but allow it to remain in private ownership. Bear-Paw provides impartial, technical assistance to landowners and often serves as an intermediary between landowners, town officials, and other conservation partners (conservation organizations, grant programs, etc.).

To make the best use of limited resources, Bear-Paw's priorities for project selection will be those properties that involve donated conservation easements or donated land. Preference will also be given to projects that provide the greatest degree of land protection for the cost. When available, Bear-Paw will seek funding from external sources for accepted projects.

Bear-Paw also works with our member towns to promote conservation planning, to identify valuable natural resource areas, to expand protected land, and to locate funding sources for land conservation projects. We encourage member towns to provide funding for conservation projects in their municipalities through a variety of ways (land use change taxes, warrant articles, etc.).