Michael Hope’s family bought a plot of land on the East Branch of Johns Bay in Bristol back in 1947. Not long afterward, local shellfish harvesters stopped by to ask permission to drive to the shore of the Hope’s farm to make it easier to haul heavy loads of clams up from the shore. Bristol clammers have been using the field for access to the clam flats ever since.

Their access to the productive clam flats on the East Branch is now permanently protected, thanks to the donation of a 5-acre conservation easement by Margo and Michael Hope to Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust in July. (…)

Coastal Rivers recently completed two land conservation projects in Bristol, adding a total of 60 acres to the existing Half Moon Pond Conservation Area that now stretches 979 acres from Route 130 to Benner Road.

In August, Chris and Natalie Coombs donated a 56-acre conservation easement on their property, which includes part of a large wetland area known as Yates Meadow and about 500 feet of shoreline on the west side of Half Moon Pond. They have called it the Kenneth and Geraldine Coombs Conservation Area, in memory of Chris’ aunt and uncle, who left the land and associated house and barn to Chris and Natalie.

We are thrilled to announce the conservation of a 93-acre property at the heart of the Half Moon Pond Conservation Area in Bristol. Purchased from Marian Doering, the property includes 25 acres of rich wetland habitat and protects vernal pools, a beaver dam, and marsh frequented by inland wading birds and waterfowl. Its intact woodlands provide deer wintering grounds and habitat for moose, fisher, bobcat and other larger mammals. (…)

Thirty years after Damariscotta River Association acquired the 71-acre Plummer Point Preserve in South Bristol, the purchase of the point’s 14-acre tip now unifies the entire peninsula under Coastal Rivers’ care.

If you have visited Plummer Point Preserve, you know what makes it special. Winding trails, views of Seal and Long Cove, plentiful wildlife, and over a mile of shoreline along the Damariscotta River have drawn hikers for decades.