Every Earth Day since 1990, the owners of Hidden Valley Farm have taken a group of friends on a hike through their forests to revisit 40 trees marked with metal tree tags to show growth. But these trees only tell part of the story of their growth as landowners.

For 45 years David Moskovitz and Bambi Jones have worked to produce a forest of well-spaced trees of various sizes and native species, where the best trees are left to grow to a large and valuable size.

The couple are Cleveland natives who met as attorneys in Chicago. In the 1970s they moved to Maine as part of the back-to-the-land movement. They bought their first 100 acres to begin organic farming. Bambi ran a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program for 120 customers for the next 20 years.

Like most rural New England parcels, part of their farm was forested, so they harvested some timber to build a house and barn.

“I liked that forestry was not as urgent as farming,” said David, who used the lessons learned from farming and running a CSA to inform his work in the woods.

Over time, the couple purchased more than 15 nearby forested properties. David and Bambi shifted much of their attention to practicing sustainable forestry and began building a trail network for hiking and cross-country skiing.

They worked with licensed consulting foresters to accomplish their management goals: earning income while continuously improving the quality and quantity of standing timber, creating wildlife habitat, and ensuring the forests’ health.

David and Bambi’s discovery of a scenic pond near their farm’s border inspired them to reach out to neighbors in hopes of preserving and utilizing this special spot. Their CSA experience led them to try a membership-based program for outdoors enthusiasts to financially contribute and help establish a trail system.

In 2007, they established a non-profit organization called the Hidden Valley Nature Center (HVNC) that operated on 1,000 acres assembled from seven purchases over 15 years. With help from a hired director and volunteers, David and Bambi held educational tours on conservation and forestry practices.

Their conservation-minded philanthropy led them to sell the land on which the HVNC operated at a bargain rate in 2016. It was part of a merger with four local land trusts to create the Midcoast Conservancy. At their urging, sustainable forestry is one of its founding pillars.

The trend of forest fragmentation has an impact on biodiversity and wildlife habitat. Both the Hidden Valley Farm and HVNC are unique consolidations of contiguous parcels managed to build resilience and provide continuous cover.

Like at HVNC, Hidden Valley Farm maintains a trail network for non-motorized recreation. Although not a public preserve, Hidden Valley Farm is open year-round to all. Of its 1,200 acres, 15 continue to be managed organically for a neighborhood CSA.

Hidden Valley Farm also contains wetlands, streams, and vernal pools. More than 20 miles of carefully designed logging roads and recreational trails prevent soil erosion and protect water quality. Soil-disturbing management activities are limited to frozen or dry-ground conditions, and brush piles, bird boxes and retaining trees – which provide habitat or food – are maintained or installed for wildlife.

It's clear that David and Bambi’s collaborative conservation efforts have taken root. Just as their forestland has grown, so has their impact.