GREENVILLE, Maine (AP) A pair of conservation groups says it is purchasing more than 26,000 acres of forestland in Maine’s remote North Woods.

The Appalachian Mountain Club and The Conservation Fund say they’re working together on the acquisition. The Conservation Fund bought a tract called the Pleasant River Headwaters Forest in Piscataquis County for $18.5 million on Feb. 8.

The fund says it will manage the 26,740 acres for “the improvement and protection of forest resources, fish passage and continued recreational use.” It says that arrangement gives the Appalachian Mountain Club enough time to raise the $25 million needed to bring the forestland into its “permanent ownership, protection and stewardship.”

The groups say a gift of $10 million has been secured from the Richard King Mellon Foundation. The area is working forestland.