MathWorks $10 Million Gift Accelerates Permanent Protection of Maine's Barnard Forest

The Appalachian Mountain Club has completed the acquisition of the Barnard Forest in Maine's 100-Mile Wilderness through a $10 million gift from MathWorks, securing nearly 29,000 acres of globally significant habitat. This represents the second-largest philanthropic contribution in AMC's history and marks a major milestone in the organization's Maine Woods Initiative, which now totals 127,710 acres.

The gift enabled AMC to finalize its purchase from The Conservation Fund and The Malone Family Land Preservation Foundation years ahead of schedule, accelerating conservation outcomes in one of the most ecologically important landscapes in the eastern United States. Nicole Zussman, President and CEO of AMC, described the gift as "catalytic," stating it enables the organization to safeguard an irreplaceable landscape while ensuring its health, access, and biodiversity are permanently protected.

The Barnard Forest, located in Piscataquis County within the Pleasant River watershed, contains the last naturally reproducing population of landlocked salmon in Maine. The property features more than 70 miles of stream corridors, critical spawning grounds for endangered sea-run Atlantic salmon, extensive spruce-fir flats, and associated wetlands that provide cold-water habitat for native brook trout and landlocked smelt. The land protects an uninterrupted, undeveloped forest from the Appalachian Trail highlands to the main stem of the Pleasant River, creating a continuous conserved land area of over 750,000 acres.

This conservation achievement resulted from AMC's strategic partnership with The Conservation Fund, which initially acquired the southern portion of the Barnard property in 2023 through its Working Forest Fund with support from the Richard King Mellon Foundation. Tom Duffus, the Fund's vice president and northeast representative, emphasized that this collaboration represents "precisely the type of meaningful, high-impact work The Conservation Fund was created to tackle."

Under AMC's stewardship, the Barnard Forest will support restoration forestry, habitat connectivity, and climate adaptation. The property will be managed to Forest Stewardship Council standards, with plans to rebuild older forest conditions and expand carbon stocking as part of the organization's broader climate strategy. The forest also contributes to rural economic growth by supporting more than 50 forestry- and recreation-related jobs while reinforcing AMC's $8.39 million annual economic impact in the region.

Steve Tatko, Vice President of Land and Conservation for AMC, noted that the land had been closed to the public for nearly 20 years but will now remain open for future generations for fishing, hunting, recreation, and cultural use, including tribal access. The three-year campaign to protect and reopen Barnard Forest resulted in nearly $24 million in gifts, grants, and program-related investments to support acquisition, perpetual stewardship, and capital necessary to re-establish public access.

Jeanne O'Keefe, MathWorks SVP and CFO, stated that supporting the permanent protection of Barnard Forest reflects the company's commitment to "solutions that scale, endure, and benefit both people and the planet." The acquisition is part of AMC's Maine Woods Initiative, the largest multi-use conservation and recreation project in the eastern United States, now encompassing nearly 130,000 contiguous acres—an area nearly three times the size of Acadia National Park. More information about the initiative is available at https://outdoors.org/MaineWoodsInitiative.