Nahmakanta
Rainbow Twp
Vital Statistics:
- Size: 11,082 acres
- Regulated: 1,271 acres
- Non-Regulated: 9,811 acres
- Upland: 9,341 acres
- Forested Wetland (NWI): 51 acres
- Non-Forested Wetland: 196 acres
- Open Water: 301 acres
- Roads: unimproved-5 miles
trails-2 miles
total-7 miles - Biophysical Region: Central Mountains
- BPL Region: North
Rare Species and Exemplary Natural Community Table for Nahmakanta
| Type | Common Name | Latin Name | S-RANK | G-RANK | State Status | EO-RANK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exemplary Natural Communities | Beech - birch - maple forest | S5 | N/A | N/A | B | |
| Mixed hardwood-conifer forest | S5 | N/A | N/A | A | ||
| Monomictic mesotropic lake | SU | N/A | N/A | E | ||
| Northern white cedar seepage forest | S3 | N/A | N/A | E | ||
| Red pine woodland | S3 | N/A | N/A | B | ||
| Spruce slope forest | S4 | N/A | N/A | AB | ||
| Rare Plants | Fragrant cliff wood fern | Dryopteris fragrans | S2 | G5 | SC | AB |
| Rare Animals | None found |
Description
At just over 11,000 acres, Nahmakanta is the largest of Maine’s ecological reserves. It consists of two sections straddling the Appalachian Trail. Nearly 90% of the reserve was classified as non-regulated, due to prior BPL designation as “back-country no-cut.” East of Nahmakanta Lake, the reserve includes the watersheds of the 5th through 8th Debsconeag Lakes. Most of the uplands within the reserve show some evidence of past harvesting, but some remote stands support trees over 300 years old, including a 320 year old northern white cedar and a 397 year old red spruce.
Only one of the exemplary natural communities listed above lies entirely within the ecological reserve. It is a large post-burn woodland near Gould Brook. Although classified as a red pine woodland, this stand is dominated by white pine, with less than 25% tree cover and an understory of heath shrubs. The other five exemplary natural communities are partly within lands protected by the National Park Service as part of the Appalachian Trail. For example, Nahmakanta Stream, classified as a mid-reach stream, is bordered by the reserve to the northeast and the AT corridor to the southwest.
Much of the large roadless area east of Nahmakanta Lake in the vicinity of the upper Debsconeag Lakes was apparently not sampled.
Resources
Lortie, J.P. Royte, J.L. Rooney, S.C. and J. McMahon. 1992. Landscape Analysis and Inventory of the Nahmakanta Management Unit, Bureau of Public Lands, Augusta, Maine. 20 pp. (+ Appendices)