Orono, Maine — A new report from the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC), the University of Maine, and Harvard Forest outlines practical strategies to conserve Maine’s remaining late-successional and old-growth forests—some of the rarest and most ecologically valuable forests in the eastern United States.
The report, Conserving the Last Mature Forests in Maine, evaluates how Maine can protect newly mapped mature forests across predominantly private working timberlands using voluntary, incentive-based conservation tools.
Recent LiDAR mapping identified more than 400,000 acres of mature forest across northern and western Maine, including forests with exceptional biodiversity, carbon storage, and ecological resilience. Yet roughly three-quarters of those forests remain vulnerable to harvest.
“Maine’s forests are both an economic engine and a globally significant conservation asset,” said Adam Daigneault, EL Giddings Associate Professor Forest Policy and Economics at the University of Maine and coauthor of the report. “The challenge is designing efficient policies that recognize both realities.”
“Maine has a rare opportunity to conserve some of the East’s last mature forests,” said Jonathan Thompson, director of Harvard Forest and coauthor of the report. “But because these forests exist largely within private working landscapes, successful conservation will depend on approaches that work for landowners as well as conservation goals.”
The report finds that no single conservation tool will be sufficient. Instead, researchers recommend a portfolio approach that combines targeted land acquisition, permanent wilderness easements, carbon market financing, and voluntary harvest deferrals.
Among the report’s findings:
- More than 80% of Maine’s unprotected mature forests are privately owned, making incentive-based conservation essential.
- Conserving all unprotected mature forests through outright acquisition alone would cost an estimated $422 million.
- Strategic prioritization can dramatically improve outcomes, with the 10 largest mature forest patches potentially protected for roughly $16 million.
- Durable conservation in Maine is more likely to emerge through voluntary agreements that align ecological value with economic incentives, rather than regulatory mandates.
The research comes as Maine develops statewide strategies for mature forest conservation following passage of the 2025 law, An Act to Enhance the Protection of High-value Natural Resources Statewide.
Learn more by visiting perc.org/maineforests
About PERC: The Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) is the national leader in market solutions for conservation, with over 40 years of research and a network of respected scholars and practitioners. Through research, law and policy, and innovative applied conservation programs, PERC explores how aligning incentives for environmental stewardship produces sustainable outcomes for land, water, and wildlife. Founded in 1980, PERC is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and proudly based in Bozeman, Montana.
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For more information or to schedule an interview with a PERC representative, please contact Elizabeth Aucamp at elizabeth@javelindc.com.
