Pierce Pond Watershed Trust
Mission

The mission of the Maine Wilderness Watershed Trust (MWWT), doing business as the Pierce Pond Watershed Trust (PPWT), a private, non-profit organization, is to protect the wild character, natural resources, and scenic beauty of the Pierce Pond watershed and preserve traditional public recreational use of the area.

OUR HISTORY

Since 1989, the Maine Wilderness Watershed Trust has fought to protect Pierce Pond and the surrounding watershed. 

1989: Upon learning that the eastern shore of Pierce Pond may soon be sold off, friends of Pierce Pond gather and decide to start a land trust.  The Maine Wilderness Watershed Trust is born.

1990: The Trust receives a donation of a conservation easement on 1700 acres of land along eastern shore of Pierce Pond.

1991: Easement lands are put up for sale.  Trust finds conservation buyer (Valentine) to purchase the property.

1994: Trust prepares application to federal Forest Legacy program to purchase conservation easements on remaining watershed lands.

1995: Trust purchases 1770 acres of land along eastern edge of watershed from Central Maine Power Company.

1996: Trust sells a conservation easement on its property to Forest Legacy program.  Forest Legacy also purchases a conservation easement on 6800 acres of land owned by S.D. Warren Company (now Plum Creek Timber Company).

1998: Forest Legacy purchases addition conservation easement protection on Valentine land.  Sappi/S.D. Warren sells all of its Maine land to Plum Creek Timber Company.

1999: MWWT acquires conservation easements protecting the shoreline of the Otter Ponds and 10 miles of the Dead River and Kennebec River.

2001:  MWWT spearheads development of Backcountry Area Agreement among watershed landowners that will help preserve the remote character of the watershed by prohibiting new public access roads.

2002: MWWT acquires 190 acres including 1.5 miles of frontage on the Dead River.  Acquiring this parcel fills an important gap resulting in the conservation of approximately 12 miles of continuous shoreline along the Dead and Kennebec Rivers in Bowtown Township. 

2006: MWWT acquires conservation easement on Cobb’s Pierce Pond Camps property ensuring that the unique character and use of this traditional Maine sporting camp will be preserved.

2010: MWWT acquires conservation easement on Harrison's Camps property ensuring that the use of this traditional Maine sporting camp on Pierce Pond Stream will be preserved.

2011: MWWT receives donation of conservation easement from John and Roland Ware on 211 acres including extensive frontage on Pierce Pond, the Thoroughfare, Pickerel Pond and Horseshoe Pond.

2015: The MWWT Board of Directors adopts ownership of the entire Pierce Pond watershed as the primary goal of future activities.

2017: The MWWT Board of Directors votes to initiate the PIERCE POND FOREVER campaign, with the goal of raising sufficient funds to acquire remaining watershed lands and provide for their long-term stewardship.

2018: MWWT articulates a bold new vision:

• To purchase at a fair price the lands within the watershed in order to protect the unique experiences we all share at Pierce Pond, forever.

• To expertly steward and manage the watershed’s invaluable resources, including water, cherished views, and wildlife habitat.

• To maintain and improve recreational opportunities, ensuring that the Pierce Pond watershed continues to offer the finest of outdoor experiences.

• To sustain the Sporting Camp tradition at Pierce Pond.

• To engage the next generation through educational and recreational activities that foster ongoing love and support for the Pierce Pond watershed.

2019: Maine Wilderness Watershed Trust (MWWT) changes its DBA (“doing business as”) name to Pierce Pond Watershed Trust (PWWT), in order to clarify the geographic focus of its mission and work.

2023: The PPWT Board of Directors embarks on an ambitious agenda of water-quality and fisheries research initiatives. This includes obtaining training and equipment for season-long monitoring of water temperature and dissolved-oxygen levels, deploying Angler Logs to collect fisheries data, and allocating funding for a telemetry study of the Pierce Pond brook trout fishery with Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife (MDIFW).

2024: PPWT embraces watershed stewardship and hires its first-ever Stewardship Coordinator to conduct and coordinate water-quality monitoring and trail maintenance, maintain campsites and water-access sites, and monitor conservation easements. The Trust also begins hosting a conservation intern each summer.

2025: PPWT teams up with the New England Forestry Foundation and the Natural Resources Conservation Service to enhance the management of its forestlands for wildlife habitat and climate change. Operations are planned for 2026.

2026: MDIFW Brook Trout Telemetry Study begins in May and is still underway! See more at https://piercepondwatershed.org/fisheries-water-quality-research.