Do you need a space for your next gathering? Consider renting the Law Farm Outdoor Classroom! This building offers side doors that open up completely, allowing for a sheltered, breezy and scenic spot. Picnic tables and a composting privy are also on site.

All proceeds from rentals of the classroom will support PCSWCD educational programming.

FMI on rentals, please contact Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District at info@piscataquisswcd.org, 207-564-2321 ext. 3.

Steven and Elaine Law purchased this land in 1945 and deeded it to the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District in 2009 after a search for the organization that could best carry out the dual missions of managing the forest for now and for future generations and also teaching others about the importance of stewardship of our natural resources.

Since that time, our District has been working with granters, volunteers, local businesses and organizations to develop the property into an inviting and dynamic public outdoor space.

May 2022 – The Law Farm Education Classroom is COMPLETED! Thank you to Corey Hill and his team at Charleston Correctional Facility for taking on this project!

Thompson Free Library teamed up with the PCSWCD to establish a Story Walk at the Law Farm! Head out there and check it out!

PCSWCD dedicated Bluebird Trail to Lynn Lubas! To celebrate Lynn’s 12 years of service to the PCSWCD, we built and dedicated a new trail connection to Lynn. On the Bluebird Trail, there is a viewing bench, that overlooks a field full of wildflowers and three bluebird boxes. Additionally, we will share trail camera pictures from this trail, so we can all see what the critters at the Law Farm are up to!

The Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District invites you to explore the community forest at the Law Farm. Our trails wind through forested wetlands, agroforestry demonstration areas and a Northern white cedar wetland. We have added several informative signs, which provide the public with information on the many conservation practices and projects taking place on the Law Farm.

The Law Farm is a great place to take a walk in the woods, enjoy a picnic with family, check out and learn about the wide variety of native tree species planted at the forest, snowshoe, cross country ski, bird and wildlife watch, bring youth groups for outdoor nature experiences and much more.

We hope you enjoy the beauty and diversity of the Law Farm!

Since the Law Farm was deeded to the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District, we have overseen several improvement projects on the land.

Here are a few projects we have been involved in:

Dedicated Bench Program at the Law Farm:

Thompson Free Library teamed up with the PCSWCD to establish a Story Walk at the Law Farm! Head on over and check out this fun addition to the nature trails! Take pictures as you go and share them using the hashtag #dfstorywalk2021

On June 21st, 2019 the PCSWCD staff, Law Farm volunteers and PRYMCA Camp Katahdin campers planted our Children’s “Sunflower Circle” Pollinator Garden at the Law Farm. The ground was prepared prior to planting the circle on June 21st and compost was added, which was generously donated by Jackson ReGenerational Farm. The PCSWCD received hundreds of beautiful perennial plant donations from several area farms and businesses: Marr Pond Farm, Checkerberry Farm, Ellis’ Greenhouse & Nursery, Ripley Farm, Thompson Free Library, Trailside Gardens, Dover True Value and Bob’s Home and Garden. This garden space is a community space to enjoy a picnic, read a book, enjoy the outdoors and learn about native pollinators and plants.

We welcomed Martha to the Law Farm in August 2019! You are now able to drive by the Law Farm and enjoy the beautiful sight of “Martha,” a metal sculpture that was created in collaboration with Bruce Towle, Merrilee Schoen from Aeons by Design, Peter Crockett of Argyle Iron Works and Fred Patterson from Troy Industrials. The 7-foot tall sculpture is part of a multimedia exhibit, “In the Interval Between Snowflakes – raising organic fruits and vegetables on a rural Maine farm.” “The exhibit’s intent is to help those of us who may not for many reasons- raise our own food, appreciate and—in a sense—honor the hard, tiring, dusty at times, muddy and occasionally dangerous work farmers and farm crews engage in bending to raise food for many of us,” explains Bruce Towle. “Martha” is one of the “Benders,” a way to honor and celebrate farms, farmers and farm hands raising organic fruit and vegetables in the state’s short growing season. She will be welcomed to her new home at the Law Farm just in time for fall harvest season.

The Christmas trees were planted at the Law Farm as part of Stephen and Elaine Law’s “Kids and Trees” program. Now, our District is maintaining them with the goal that any proceeds from Christmas Tree sales will fund educational programs at the Law Farm. In 2013, our District held a Christmas Tree Pruning Workshop and it has been exciting to utilize this resource as a way to expand our educational offerings.

There have been several timber harvests at the Law Farm. These harvests were planned to open the land up to allow access to forestry demonstration areas and to make way for tree species better suited for the landscape. Additionally, the PCSWCD received a Project Canopy grant in 2014, which helped fund a major native hardwood planting in both the logged areas of the community forest and in new agroforestry demonstration areas.

This same Project Canopy grant funded vibrant and informative trail and site signs, which greatly enhance the natural areas of the Law Farm.

For more information on any of these great Law Farm projects, please be sure to contact the PCSWCD!

In February 2018, The Commons at Central Hall provided the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District (PCSWCD) with funds awarded to The Commons from the Quimby Family Foundation to make updates to the Law Farm, located on Lee Cemetery Rd in Dover-Foxcroft. The funds awarded to the District went towards new signage, privy upgrades and new benches to increase public use of the existing trails for multi-generational use. The PCSWCD assembled one of the new signs on Thursday August, 2nd at 4pm.

With collaboration from the University of Maine’s acting director of Cooperative Forestry Research unit, Brian Roth, Foxcroft Academy’s science teachers Robert Weber and Brian Krause and The American Chestnut Foundation’s Maine chapter, Thomas Klak, 104 seedlings were planted on July 18, 2017 which is overseen by the PCSWCD for the Chestnut Germplasm Conservation Orchard (GCO). With the addition of this beautiful new sign to the Law Farm, visitors can view the orchard while getting more information about the new Chestnut Germplasm Conservation Orchard.

The Chestnut Germplasm Conservation Orchard is an exciting research venture for the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District and we look forward to sharing information about this project with you all.