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Tyler Conservation Area
An impressive Lone Wolf Pine.
Photo: Ron Gay
Location and Description:
Location: Readfield, Maine
Visitors to the Tyler Conservation Area will have the opportunity to enjoy woodlands, small brooks, and wetlands amidst the rolling hills of Readfield. Located on the east and west sides of Thundercastle Road, this property protects 53 acres of undeveloped open space to be used for habitat preservation and low-impact recreational activities. Logged in the early 1990s, the regenerating forest within the Tyler Conservation Area has many interesting sites to keep an eye out for, including a vernal pool, rock walls left over from the agricultural era during the 1800s, hemlock and pine stands, and a scenic lily pond.
Usage and Trails:
Trails: Blue Trail: 0.4 miles, easy; starts at the KLT trailhead off Thundercastle Road and loops back to Thundercastle Road. Red Trail: 0.5 miles, easy; accessible from the Blue Trail and loops around the northern portion of the property. White Trail: 0.1 miles, easy; splits off the Blue Trail and heads to the southeast corner.
Directions: From the center of Readfield (intersection of Route 17 and 41), go west on Route 17. Turn right onto the Old Kents Hill Road. Take the next right onto Thundercastle Road and look for the KLT sign and trailhead on the right after about 0.6 miles.
Note: Snowmobiles are allowed only on the marked snowmobile trail. Motorized vehicles, camping, and fires are not allowed. Hunting is allowed only by permission of the owners.
A small grassland area.
Photo: Ron Gay
Conservation History:
The Tyler family arrived on the land in 1956 from Caribou, ME. After clearing a small area and building a home, the family left the remainder of their property wooded until the 1990s. After substantial persuasion from a logging company, the Tylers agreed to allow their property to be used for logging purposes. Shortly thereafter, the land was heavily logged, leaving little woodland behind and allowing invasive species such as glossy buckthorn to thrive in the newly created open space.
Feeling a civic duty to protect their land for others to enjoy, the Tylers protected the land with assistance from the Kennebec Land Trust in 2003 by granting KLT a conservation easement. Since then, the forest has regenerated significantly and there are only a few traces of the prior logging.
In July 2021, the Tylers donated the 48-acre property in fee and KLT purchased an additional adjacent five-acre parcel.