The Nature Conservancy has purchased 185,000 acres of Maine wilderness from International Paper Co. in a deal worth $35.1 million, the Washington Post reports.

This is the largest single land-conservation purchase in Maine history, the Post reports. It is also the second large-scale purchase of Northeastern forest land announced within the last week. Maine residents have seen an estimated 15 percent of the state go up for sale this past year.

The state's political leaders are working to secure other conservation funds and considering an appeal for creation of a national park in Maine as a response to the massive transfers of undeveloped land, the Post reports.

The Conservation Fund announced last week the purchase of 296,000 acres in New Hampshire, New York and Vermont for $76.2 million from the Champion paper company.

The International Paper tract is a 286-square-mile parcel encompassing one third of the Upper St. Johns River and part of the Northern Appalachian forest, the Post reports.

The Nature Conservancy's Maine chapter will manage the tract for public recreation and hunting and controlled timber sales.

The Nature Conservancy started in 1951 and now operates the largest private system of nature sanctuaries in the world. It has more than 1,500 preserves in the U.S.

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