A conservation group in Belfast is purchasing a 54-acre parcel of land at the center of a years-long dispute over a proposed salmon farm.

Nordic Aquafarms dropped its bid to build the on-shore aquaculture facility in January, after multiple rounds of legal challenges.

Upstream Watch, a local group that pushed back on the project for years, is now under contract to purchase the property. Interim executive director Pete Nichols said the goal is to preserve the site.

"We were concerned that when the parcel went on the market, that it might be developed again," he said. "It's incredible habitat. Like I said, it's got wetlands and trail systems and forests, and I think that's really what the community wants to see."

Nichols said the group is launching a capital campaign to raise an estimated $1.5 million to purchase the land. He's hopeful they can raise the money by the end of the year.

Upstream Watch fought for years with Nordic Aquafarms over the proposed fish farm, which ran into a number of legal setbacks around access to Penobscot Bay and discharging wastewater.

When the company dropped its bid earlier this year, Belfast mayor Eric Sanders said he was disappointed, in part because he said the tax revenue from the farm would have been a big boost for city residents.

Source - https://www.mainepublic.org