Situated near the middle of Windham, a rolling stretch of farmland and forest totaling 551 acres known as the Clark Farm is the home of birds, white-tailed deer, raccoons and hawks, as well as hayfields, power lines and old-growth trees.

Route 202, Swett Road and the Pleasant River all make their way through the property. Wooded swaths provide shelter for wildlife, and snowmobilers and hunters can enjoy vast stretches of farmland.

The Clark family farm, known as one of the biggest parcels of open space in southern Maine, is up for grabs. The only question is who will come away with the $2.6 million prized parcel: the taxpayers of Windham, who must decide Nov. 3 whether to approve a million-dollar bond, or a residential developer, who could buy the property and build subdivisions.

If the upcoming referendum is approved by voters, the Windham Land Trust would hold a permanent conservation easement on more than 300 acres of the property. According to land trust president Dennis Hawkes, 76 acres would be directly owned by the land trust, with the land remaining open to the public for activities such as snowmobiling, hunting and hiking. ATV riding would be prohibited.

Secondly, a 242-acre parcel would be under the ownership of the property's owners, Larry and Anne Clark, with the land trust holding a conservation easement. A third section of the property totaling 233-acres would be put into agricultural use, with a permanent agricultural easement held by the Maine Farmland Trust. A new farming operation, complete with a farmhouse and barns, would be built.

The Windham Land Trust has been raising money for five years trying to preserve the property.

"Private fundraising is difficult to say the least now. That's why we're approaching the town," Hawkes said.

So far, with help from private donations and grants from Maine Farmland Trust and the nationwide conservation group Trust for Public Land, the land trust has secured $1.4 million. An anonymous donor has promised $200,000 should the town pass the bond. With the Clarks wanting to sell and with the economy stuck in neutral, the land trust has decided to ask the town for the remaining $1 million to help push the purchase forward.

The delay of the sale has hurt the Clark family's bottom line, however. Five years ago, the original price tag was $4.6 million. Now, due to lowered real estate values, the farm is valued at $2.6 million. The Clarks, who are relying on the money from the sale to fund their retirement, continue to want to preserve the land and are holding out hope voters in Windham seal the deal.

"The purpose of the bond is to keep the land more or less as it is, and not some sort of development. It gives the town a significant amount of land - fields and woods - in the heart of town as it continues to develop," Larry Clark said.

Clark and his parents, Jack and Peggy Clark, moved to Windham in 1948 when Larry Clark was 7 years old. His father Jack worked at S.D. Warren paper mill in Westbrook and ran a beef cattle operation at the Swett Road farm. Clark wants to see farming continue, and cringes at the thought of development on land he has farmed and enjoyed for decades.

"I didn't know it would take this long. All these different entities are involved. Protecting land isn't simple," Clark said. "I know this is a hard time to spend money, but the town has an opportunity to acquire something that in the long run could be a real asset."

While the initial amount needed to secure the property is $1 million, since Windham would have to bond the amount, the true figure spent over the life of the 20-year bond would be an estimated $1.55 million, depending on interest rates. Hawkes said the average homeowner can expect to pay an additional $9 per year should the bond pass. While many in town appreciate the land trust's efforts to preserve open space, others don't want to see public money being used for the purchase.

Peter Gilman, a Windham taxpayer, said the purchase comes at a bad time for Windham, due to the economy.

"It's especially irresponsible to spend taxpayer money on something that benefits so few. I think open space should be paid for with private money. Always," Gilman said.

Al Fox, owner of Fox & Gammon Rigging in Windham, agreed. "The way the economy is now, for the average taxpayer I think that this is the stupidest thing they have ever brought up in front of this town."

Jim Cummings, who owns multiple business and residential properties in town, said the town wouldn't get much in return for its $1.5 million investment.

"The property supposedly appraised for $2.6 million, but all we're buying is an easement with no assurances," Cummings said.

Cummings also is appalled that Windham property taxpayers, included among them farmers, would be spending money to establish a new farm to be built and overseen by Maine Farmland Trust on the property.

"A large parcel would be set aside for farming. So, you're taking tax dollars from existing farmers in town to subsidize a new farming operation? It makes no sense at all. It's not right to do to the farmers who are already struggling to pay their taxes," Cummings said.

Cummings also disagrees that protecting the 551 acres will somehow have a positive effect on development pressures in Windham.

"This wouldn't stop growth. It will happen elsewhere, where it's not as suitable as the centrally located Clark Farm property," Cummings said.

Windham resident and business owner John Thalberg echoes Cummings' concerns and worries that while the town will pay a handsome sum for the easement, nothing prevents the Windham Land Trust from changing the agreement down the road.

"Once it's done, we have no control over what happens because it would be owned by an organization, not the town," Thalberg said. "The (land trust) can make a change because of something that would happen in the future. They could shut it off to snowmobilers, for example, and what could we do? Bottom line is that we can use that money for better things, such as a transfer station, which is something the town needs."

Despite the economy, South Windham resident Will Plumley, chairman of the Presumpscot River Watershed Coalition, said the town shouldn't miss the opportunity to preserve the large tract on Swett Road.

"It has benefits for people and wildlife, and the Clark Farm preserve will provide lots of public benefits including all the traditional uses we value here in Maine," Plumley said.