Public Lands and Parks

What’s At Stake

Public lands are a defining asset for Maine—supporting outdoor recreation, wildlife habitat, clean water, climate resilience, and rural economies.

There are several types of public lands managed by the State of Maine. Additionally, the federal government manages Acadia National Park, the Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument, Caribou Speckled Wilderness, and several national wildlife refuges. 

We work to identify opportunities to increase funding for land conservation, protection, and maintenance of public lands, and to defend them against attacks by corporations seeking to profit from them.

Maine’s Public Reserved Lands

What are Public Reserved Lands?

Maine has approximately 600,000 acres of Public Reserved Lands in 37 separate parcels located across the state. These lands are enjoyed for their outstanding hiking, camping, birding, fishing, and hunting opportunities. They include the Bigelow Preserve, Kennebec Highlands, Tumbledown, Cutler’s Bold Coast, Donnell Pond, Debouillie, Mount Abraham, and other Maine gems. (Check out this map from the Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry to see the full list.)

How are Public Reserved Lands Managed and Maintained?

Maine’s Public Reserved Lands are managed by the Bureau of Parks and Lands (BPL) for multiple uses, including wildlife habitat, outdoor recreation, and sustainable timber harvesting.

Maine’s Public Reserved Lands include some of the best, largest, and oldest trees in the state. Stands with big, old trees are not only economically valuable, but they also provide some of the best remaining habitat in Maine’s forests for those plant, bird, and mammal species that thrive in older forests. In addition, they are part of ecosystems that provide clean air and water, prevent erosion and flooding, and store large amounts of carbon, among other benefits to society.

For most of its history, BPL has harvested timber from forests on Public Reserved Lands in a sustainable manner, improving both the quality and the quantity of timber on those lands. Under the LePage administration, however, Public Reserved Lands were regularly under attack: the former governor attempted to increase timber harvesting to unsustainable levels and needlessly restructure public land management. The LePage administration also attempted to siphon off essential funding from harvests for unrelated purposes. Fortunately, these attacks were largely unsuccessful, and under a new administration, BPL is back on track, conducting good forestry and stewardship.

Management of Maine’s Public Reserved Lands is entirely funded by revenues generated from the lands themselves, primarily from timber harvesting. All of the roads, trails, campsites, picnic tables, and other recreational infrastructure; all wildlife habitat and ecological protection activities; and all timber management and harvesting activities on Public Reserved Lands are paid for by the lands themselves. No taxpayer funds are used.

How are Public Reserved Lands Acquired?

Maine’s 600,000 acres of Public Reserved Lands are a unique state resource. Their origin dates back to the separation of Maine from Massachusetts in 1820. In 1820, the state set aside lots in each unincorporated township from private sale in order for this land to provide various public benefits. In the 1970s, these dispersed public lots were consolidated into the spectacular Public Reserved Land System that we have today. These consolidated lots protect wildlife habitat, provide timber, and offer a wide variety of public recreational opportunities. 

These lands are held in public trust and managed for public use and enjoyment.

Additional public funding for acquiring new Public Reserved Lands comes from the Land for Maine’s Future (LMF) program, the federal Forest Legacy Program, or from private philanthropic donations. NRCM strongly supports all of these funding sources. 

Ecological Reserves

Ecological reserves represent the most protective tier of public land management, intended to conserve representative ecosystems and biodiversity with minimal human disturbance. Protecting a full range of habitats is increasingly urgent as climate change and development pressures intensify.

Maine’s Ecological Reserve System was established on August 11, 2000. Ecological reserves are managed by the Bureau of Parks and Land and serve three primary purposes:

1. To serve as a benchmark for environmental and biological change over time and function as sites for research and education.
2. To maintain representative examples of all the habitat types found in Maine.
3. To protect habitat for wildlife that may not be protected on other lands.

Ecological reserves include some of Maine’s most iconic locations for backcountry recreation, including the Bigelow Preserve, Cutler Coast, Deboullie, and the Mahoosucs. Ecological reserves offer fantastic backcountry hiking, camping, hunting, and fishing.  

NRCM supported legislation to expand and strengthen Maine’s ecological reserve system, including LD 736, signed into law in 2022, which enhanced protections and planning for these reserves.

State Parks

Maine has 48 State Parks and Historic Sites, protecting more than 100,000 acres of land and offering diverse recreational opportunities throughout the state.*

With gems including Aroostook State Park, Mount Kineo, Rangeley Lakes, Grafton Notch, Bradbury Mountain, Crescent Beach, and Quoddy Head, Maine’s State Parks are very popular. Not that Baxter State Park is a separate entity from the State Park System, as it has an independent management structure.

National Parks and Public Lands

NRCM supports and promotes access to federal public lands in Maine—including Acadia National Park, the Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument, national wildlife refuges, and wilderness areas—for their ecological, recreational, and economic benefits. Acadia alone generates hundreds of millions of dollars annually in regional economic activity and supports thousands of jobs, illustrating how conservation and local economies go hand in hand.

NRCM played a central role in collaborating with local partners to establish the Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument (KWW) in 2016, protecting roughly 87,500 acres east of Baxter State Park through a land donation that included $20 million in stewardship funds. The Monument safeguards rivers, wildlife habitat, dark skies, and iconic views of Katahdin while fostering recreation and regional economic revitalization. NRCM remains engaged in management planning to ensure conservation values and appropriate public use are upheld.