diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 5e844f143a4a..f58506891921 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -10,8 +10,13 @@
 CMakeUserPresets.json
 
 # Ignore possible symlinked build and install directories
-build-*
-install-*
+# Note: we can't use a / at the end because they might be
+# symlink to a directory
+build*
+install*
+
+# If you build with spack libraries, you can get spack log files
+spack*.log
 
 *.swp
 *.swo
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index c7907ed679c9..862ce86e3336 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 - Fixed bug with split restart files
 - Removed unnecessary memory allocation for tile reads. This is critical for high res runs on SCU17
 - Fixes to allow SCM model to run
+- Fixed non-Baselibs build using `ESMF::ESMF` target
 
 ### Removed
 
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index d0cbe7caa523..89c3b217e918 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -148,21 +148,8 @@ if (NOT Baselibs_FOUND)
   endif()
 
   if (NOT TARGET ESMF::ESMF)
-    find_package(ESMF 8.6.0 MODULE REQUIRED)
-
-    # ESMF as used in MAPL requires MPI
-    # NOTE: This looks odd because some versions of FindESMF.cmake out in the
-    #       world provide an "esmf" target while others provide "ESMF". So we
-    #       need this ugliness to support both.
-    if (TARGET ESMF::ESMF)
-      target_link_libraries(ESMF::ESMF INTERFACE MPI::MPI_Fortran)
-    else()
-      target_link_libraries(ESMF::ESMF INTERFACE MPI::MPI_Fortran)
-      # MAPL and GEOS use lowercase target due to historical reasons but
-      # the latest FindESMF.cmake file from ESMF produces an ESMF target.
-      add_library(ESMF::ESMF ALIAS ESMF)
-      add_library(ESMF::ESMF ALIAS esmf)
-    endif()
+    find_package(ESMF 8.6.1 MODULE REQUIRED)
+    target_link_libraries(ESMF::ESMF INTERFACE MPI::MPI_Fortran)
   endif ()
 else ()
   # This is an ESMF version test when using Baselibs which doesn't use the
diff --git a/cmake/FindESMF.cmake b/cmake/FindESMF.cmake
index eabba677d3b6..4eb0f6a54e91 100644
--- a/cmake/FindESMF.cmake
+++ b/cmake/FindESMF.cmake
@@ -96,22 +96,22 @@ if(EXISTS ${ESMFMKFILE})
       message(WARNING "Static ESMF library (libesmf.a) not found in \
                        ${ESMF_LIBSDIR}. Try setting USE_ESMF_STATIC_LIBS=OFF")
     endif()
-    if(NOT TARGET ESMF)
-      add_library(ESMF STATIC IMPORTED)
+    if(NOT TARGET ESMF::ESMF)
+      add_library(ESMF::ESMF STATIC IMPORTED)
     endif()
   else()
     find_library(ESMF_LIBRARY_LOCATION NAMES esmf PATHS ${ESMF_LIBSDIR} NO_DEFAULT_PATH)
     if(ESMF_LIBRARY_LOCATION MATCHES "ESMF_LIBRARY_LOCATION-NOTFOUND")
       message(WARNING "ESMF library not found in ${ESMF_LIBSDIR}.")
     endif()
-    if(NOT TARGET ESMF)
-      add_library(ESMF UNKNOWN IMPORTED)
+    if(NOT TARGET ESMF::ESMF)
+      add_library(ESMF::ESMF UNKNOWN IMPORTED)
     endif()
   endif()
 
-  # Add target alias to facilitate unambiguous linking
-  if(NOT TARGET ESMF::ESMF)
-    add_library(ESMF::ESMF ALIAS ESMF)
+  # Add ESMF as an alias to ESMF::ESMF for backward compatibility
+  if(NOT TARGET ESMF)
+    add_library(ESMF ALIAS ESMF::ESMF)
   endif()
 
   # Add ESMF include directories
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ if(EXISTS ${ESMFMKFILE})
                       ESMF_F90COMPILEPATHS
         VERSION_VAR ESMF_VERSION)
 
-  set_target_properties(ESMF PROPERTIES
+  set_target_properties(ESMF::ESMF PROPERTIES
         IMPORTED_LOCATION "${ESMF_LIBRARY_LOCATION}"
         INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES "${ESMF_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES}"
         INTERFACE_LINK_LIBRARIES "${ESMF_INTERFACE_LINK_LIBRARIES}")