The Scarborough Land Trust again has expanded Pleasant Hill Preserve’s footprint by 25 acres, giving it a total of 211 acres. 

The preserve, located at the intersection of Pleasant Hill Road and Fogg Road, is made up of open fields, woods and wetlands. Home to over 100 bird species and other wildlife, it is part of 500 acres of contiguous conserved land that includes the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge. 

The preserve has 2.4 miles of public trails for hiking, wildlife watching, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. 

Rhonda and Jim Finely sold the 25 acres to the trust for less than the fair market value to conserve the land, according to a press release from the trust. 

“We are very happy to know the land will be protected forever,” Jim Finley said in the release. “We would recommend that anyone in the same position as us reach out to SLT and start the dialogue of preserving their own property for future generations.”

Funding came from the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund, the Maine Coast Heritage Trust’s Marshes for Tomorrow Initiative, the town of Scarborough Land Bond funding and other people and businesses, the release said. 

The trust first bought the property — which has a history of farming dating to the early 1800s — from the children of Jerrerd Benjamin in 2014.

This is the second recent expansion of the preserve. In 2024, the land trust purchased 25 acres from Jim and Louise Falt, which expanded it to 186 acres.