![\"Hidden](\"https:\/\/www.mofga.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Hidden-Valley-Farm-and-Forest.jpeg\")
Back-to-the-Landers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Originally from Cleveland, the two went to the same elementary school but didn\u2019t become a couple until they met again while working and going to school in Chicago. As the back-to-the-land movement blossomed in the \u201870s, they began thinking about relocating. After considering states in the Northwest and Northeast, they settled on Maine, where Jones had vacationed previously. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They bought 100 acres on a dirt road (Hollywood Boulevard) in Whitefield and established Hidden Valley Farm in 1978. Jones started one of the first CSA (community supported agriculture) farms in the state, growing MOFGA-certified organic vegetables for 120 members for more than a decade. Like most Maine farms, the land included a forest, from which the couple harvested timber for firewood and lumber to build their house and barn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They continued buying land in Whitefield (and later in Jefferson and Alna), practicing sustainable forestry, creating trails for hiking and skiing, and improving wildlife habitat. In 2007, they and five neighbors, through Maine Farmland Trust (Jones served on its first board), put permanent easements on 1,000 of their combined acres \u2014 a testimony to the neighborliness of their area. Two other local properties were under easements before that, so now more than 90% of the land (about 1,500 acres) along Hollywood Boulevard is protected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t know of any other place like this,\u201d says Moskovitz. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty special.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCommunity is very important to me,\u201d says Jones. In addition to keeping their land open for neighbors\u2019 use, they frequently join local friends for suppers and other activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By 2007, their land holdings exceeded 2,000 acres. From this, they created the nonprofit Hidden Valley Nature Center on 1,000 acres \u2014 Lincoln County\u2019s largest private landholding open to the public \u2014 as a demonstration site for conservation and forestry practices that go beyond sustainable. Applying the \u201cworst first\u201d philosophy, they let the best trees continue to grow while harvesting others for firewood, pulpwood, and timber, thus creating space for and ensuring the health of the remaining trees. \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve cut a good tree in 30 years,\u201d Moskovitz told Mainebiz in 2014. \u201cI\u2019m not sure I know how.\u201d They leave some dead trees for wildlife habitat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2016, they sold Hidden Valley Nature Center at far below market value to Midcoast Conservancy, which continues practicing and teaching quality forestry and conservation methods as well as timber frame construction there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Growing Hidden Valley Farm and Forest<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jones and Moskovitz retained their nearby 1,200 acres to continue farming and forestry on their Hidden Valley Farm and Forest. Although they\u2019ve been harvesting trees for more than 40 years, their land is better stocked and more productive than when they bought it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur forest management is really aimed at long term,\u201d says Moskovitz in a\u00a0video<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0produced by the Sand County Foundation. \u201cWe\u2019ve always managed our woods to increase the health and quality and quantity of wood that\u2019s here. So even though we\u2019ve been harvesting continually, there\u2019s a lot more wood on the land today than there was when we bought it. And the wood is of much higher quality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Neighbors and friends use the more than 25 miles of logging roads and trails on this land, all maintained, labeled and mapped, for hiking, skiing, biking, and horseback riding. \u201cWe\u2019re happy to see our neighbors, our friends\u201d enjoy the land, says Jones. Their trails connect with those at Hidden Valley Nature Center. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Through their land purchases over time, the couple has helped reverse the trend of forest fragmentation, thus supporting wildlife habitat and biodiversity. Most of their land is within a wildlife sanctuary designated by the state of Maine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because of their efforts, they received the 2014 Regional Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year award for the Northeast region of the American Tree Farm System, the 2017 Cooperator of the Year Award from the Knox-Lincoln Soil and Water Conservation District, and the 2024 Leopold Conservation Award for New England from the Sand County Foundation \u2014 the first Mainers to win that award, which is named for writer and conservationist Aldo Leopold. The Leopold award was presented by the Sand County Foundation and the New England Forestry Foundation and was sponsored by American Farmland Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cultivating for the Future<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Now in their 70s and having cherished and worked their land for almost 50 years, Jones and Moskovitz are thinking about the future of their Hidden Valley Farm and Forest. They are considering donating the approximately 1,200 acres (most of it contiguous), buildings, and farm and forestry equipment, all informally appraised at $4 to $5 million, to a conservation organization or to a partnership of two or more organizations \u2014 along with a significant endowment. Or they could sell it to a conservation-minded buyer \u2014”maybe someone in the MOFGA community,\u201d they say \u2014 and donate the proceeds to one or more nonprofits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re flexible,\u201d says Moskovitz, adding that the donation will probably be phased in over five or so years. They can protect the property through easements so that its care remains true to their practices and to limit its development and\/or subdivision. Currently 700 acres are under such an easement donated to Maine Farmland Trust. They will probably enroll the rest in that easement program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soliciting Proposals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In early 2025, they contacted groups they thought might be interested in the property and received several proposals. Their top priority is how the donation will make the selected organization more impactful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTo our knowledge,\u201d say Jones and Moskovitz, \u201cthis is the largest contiguous property under single ownership in Midcoast Maine.\u201d It includes about 10 acres of land that was MOFGA-certified organic for 35 years and supported significant production of vegetables and hay. (Jones recently dropped the certification since she no longer sells vegetables.) Their land abuts another 537-acre woodlot, the owner of which is also interested in conservation opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most of their land is enrolled in Maine\u2019s Tree Growth program, which saves on taxes. (The state pays the town the difference between the market value of the land and the tree growth value.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jones and Moskovitz are enthusiastic about increasing the support forestry can provide Maine farms. \u201cIn Europe, forests are an asset,\u201d says Moskovitz. \u201cMost of the farms protected by Maine Farmland Trust are at least partially or significantly forested,\u201d but the landowners often don\u2019t take advantage of their woodlands. He notes that the New England Forestry Foundation, through its Pooled Timber Income Fund, can manage land and provide nonprofits or private landowners with a steady stream of income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The homestead part of their land consists of about 5 acres. Buildings include their 2,550-square-foot earth-bermed passive solar home that has been featured in national magazines and has a stone patio, two decks, and an enclosed porch; a two-story barn with a solar system; a 24-by-48-foot greenhouse with a concrete floor, insulated north wall, water-based heat storage, and a mounted propane heater; a hoophouse; four large storage sheds; a root cellar; two cabins; a 28-foot-diameter hexagon; and a 17-by-34-foot post and beam off-grid cabin with solar power on Little Dyer Pond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Farm equipment includes five tractors; a cut-to-length tree harvester; a forwarder, bulldozer, and excavator; equipment for haying, tilling, and mowing; and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They hope to decide on a donee or buyer by summer 2026 if they get a proposal that they like. They evaluate proposals based on how their gift will make the organization more impactful; how the gift will change, redirect, or help fulfill the organization\u2019s mission; how it will change the long-term financial health of the organization; whether it leverages other possible donations; and whether it is consistent with and supports the local community. They will also consider whether the staff and board are committed to the proposal, and the ability and track record of the organization to deliver on plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They want the property to be permanently protected and preferably to remain intact and under single ownership. Sustainable forestry should continue on most of the property, while agricultural, educational, and recreational uses are pluses. They care about the potential owner organization\u2019s community engagement and connection to the property. They hope proposals will demonstrate new economically viable business models that support conservation, that other conservation organizations can follow and that inspire other landowners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interested parties can contact Jones and Moskovitz at\u00a0<\/em>bambisfarm@gmail.com<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Bambi](\"https:\/\/www.mofga.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Bambi-Jones-and-David-Moskovitz.jpeg\")