By A.J. Higgins MPBN news story Plans to preserve large sections of Maine’s North Woods for a future national park could be undermined by a bill advanced by Gov. Paul LePage. The bill targets efforts by Roxanne Quimby and her son Lucas St. Clair, who have held discussions with federal officials that could lead to Read More
Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument
NRCM along with residents of the Katahdin region, and supporters around the state worked on the campaign to to ensure protection of 87,500 acres east of Baxter State Park as the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument (KWW). This land was gifted to the United States by the landowner, Elliotsville Plantation, a nonprofit foundation founded by Burt’s Bees entrepreneur Roxanne Quimby. EPI also donated $20 million in stewardship funds. On August 24, 2016, President Barack Obama designated this land as the Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument. Read more about the National Monument in these media stories and blogs.
Chasing the Dream: A Vacation on the Proposed National Park Lands
Despite a nearly snowless winter, I took advantage of a small window of opportunity to ski the Katahdin Woods and Water Recreation Areas (KWW) with family and friends last week. In fact, our window was so tight, we skied well-groomed trails one day and waded through a massive rain puddle the next. Under any conditions, Read More
Why Continuing Dialogue is Crucial to the National Park Debate
By The BDN Editorial Board Bangor Daily News editorial The debate over the potential of a national park in the Maine woods has taken on urgency as the National Park Service and White House have shown an interest in creating a national monument near Baxter State Park. Elliotsville Plantation Inc., a nonprofit foundation started by Read More
A Katahdin Region National Park is an Opportunity We Can’t Let Slip Away
By Georgia Manzo, Bangor Daily News op-ed I am writing to express my personal support for the proposed national park and national recreation or national monument in the Katahdin Region and applaud the recent Bangor Daily News endorsement. I grew up in Little Italy in Millinocket; my grandfather and father worked their entire adult lives Read More
Canoeing the East Branch of the Penobscot River: September 13-18, 2015
by Bruce & Hartley Spencer We were introduced to this wild part of Maine when our parents took us to Baxter State Park in 1955. This visit and subsequent visits impressed upon Hartley and me what a magnificent gift Percival Baxter gave to the people of Maine. Our first canoe was named Wassataquoik for this Read More
A Mountain Biking Trip to KWW for All Skill Levels
I recently had the opportunity, as a member of the NRCM Rising Leadership Team, to visit the proposed National Park property East of Baxter for the first time. I excitedly accepted, and am so glad I did!
Time to Show Our Patriotism with a New National Park in Maine
By Sheridan Steele and W. Kent Olson, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed Paul Haertel, Marla O’Byrne and the two of us represent a century-plus as park officials and nonprofit conservation executives. Below we address questions about a proposal by philanthropists to create a new national park in Maine. They would donate a Read More
Exploring Katahdin Woods and Waters
In February I spent five days with students from Chewonki’s Maine Coast Semester exploring Katahdin Woods and Waters, the area east of Baxter State Park proposed for inclusion in the National Park system. The Maine Coast Semester is a four-month-long program for high school juniors. In the fall and again in the winter/spring, 42 participants Read More
The Case for a Katahdin Woods National Monument
By Edgar Allen Beem The Forecaster column Just in time for the centennial of the National Park Service and the final year of the Obama administration, philanthropist Roxanne Quimby and her family are seeking national monument status for the land east of Baxter State park they have been assembling in hopes of it becoming a Read More
