The Boothbay Region Land Trust cares for 1,387 acres on the peninsula set aside as preserves. Someone needs to keep an eye on all that land, making sure it stays safe and beautiful for the members of the community who use it. That person is newly hired Land Trust Manager Mike Warren.

“The Boothbay Region Land Trust is entrusted with preserving the lands sold, donated, or stewarded to them,” Warren said. “I’m an overseer for the trust, making sure the preserves stay beautiful and healthy. But I don’t do it alone; it would be an impossible job without all the volunteer help we get.”

As Land Trust Manager, Warren talks with the stewards who keep an eye on the preserves. These stewards are frequent users of the preserve they watch over, and keep an eye on changes that might occur. Changes include fallen trees, erosion, issues with neighbors (an uncommon occurrence) or damage to bog bridges.

When an issue is reported, Warren and a volunteer crew are tasked with fixing the problem. Warren also walks the trails frequently, looking for any issues not reported and performing routine maintenance, such as trimming back trees. He also coordinates and leads all the volunteer teams.

“This job is just a tiny speck in what the Land Trust does,” Warren said. The efforts of volunteers and community members are important in helping preserve what the region has, Warren said.

Warren was raised in Southern Maine, and is currently living in Rangeley with his wife where they have lived and raised a family for the past 28 years. Though he is commuting back and forth the three days a week he works right now, he and his wife plan to move to the Boothbay region.

“We have lots of family down here, and I’ve very familiar with the area,” Warren said. He demonstrates this by easily navigating the many one-way streets in downtown Boothbay Harbor without a pause. “My wife and I talked about moving down here, and six years ago we came close, but plans fell through. When I saw the Land Trust was looking for a new land manager, it was (the) head start we needed.”

Warren has worked as hunting and fishing guide in Rangeley and enjoys nature. He hopes to work one or two days a week as a guide in the Boothbay area once he has moved here.

Warren said he loves the natural beauty of the region and the variety of areas (and the animals living there) the Land Trust protects. He also expressed how much he enjoyed knowing that some preserves, such as Porter Preserve and Damariscove Island, were open to working waterfront activities.

“It is so important to protect (the) working waterfront, to keep it open,” Warren said.

While walking on the Penny Lake preserve, he gestured around and talked about how if the area were not protected, someone probably would have come in a created a housing development there.

“It would be the perfect area for one. But we’d lose this natural beauty, this wonderful peaceful piece of untouched wilderness …. Without the Land Trust, and the community behind them, Boothbay could be encroached upon.

“I’m proud to be a part of protecting this, even if it’s a very small part.”

Katrina Clark can be reached at 207-633-4620 or katrinaclark@boothbayregister.com. Follow her on Twitter: @BBRegisterClark or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BBRegisterKatrinaClark.