In December of 2013, Loon Echo Land Trust purchased the 1,600 acre property from K&W Timberlands. In January 2015, the Town of Sebago took ownership of 130 acres of land on Swamp Road in the southern portion of the Perley Mills property. In April 2015, the Town of Denmark took ownership of the remaining acres in Bridgton and Denmark. LELT reserved perpetual conservation easements on both properties to ensure the properties remains undeveloped and available to the public for a variety of recreational uses including snowmobiling and hunting.
The Community Forest conserves significant wildlife habitat and recreational features, including multiple ponds, brooks, and large wetlands. Pickerel Pond, the jewel of the property located in the heart of the Denmark parcel, is used by the public for fishing, swimming and boating with small boats. It also has significant recreational resources, with three miles of the historical Narrow Gauge Trail which now serves as a state snowmobile trail and part of a regional ATV network. Public use of the land will include snowmobiling, ATV riding, hunting, fishing, boating, swimming, walking, bicycling, cross-country skiing and horseback riding, offering a major public benefit and economic asset to the region.
Information from Loon Echo Land Trust and Northern Forest Center.