RESTORE the Maine Woods

[twochordcool]

Do you think we'll ever see a national park surrounding Baxter State Park?

[Boreal Chickadee]

Nope. Local Maine residents don't want another national park. They feel that the state of Maine is doing a fine job taking care of Percy's gift just fine. And you know what? They're right.

[twochordcool]

Nope. Local Maine residents don't want another national park. They feel that the state of Maine is doing a fine job taking care of Percy's gift just fine. And you know what? They're right.

Well as generous as "Percy's" gift was, it's a mere tease and joke when compared to the size of the remaining undeveloped area in the state of Maine.

[redhawk]

National Parks don't really protect the envirnoment. In all too many cases the federal government is manipilated by the Special interset groups (Timber, Oil, mines and natural gas) to lease the lands for a mere pittance, remove the natural resources as low cost to themselves to resell them to the public who actually "owned" the resources at high prices.

There have many attempts by special interest groups to try to get the Adirondack Park to become a national park because it is so difficult for them to steal her resources under the curent setup.

[Boreal Chickadee]

Well as generous as "Percy's" gift was, it's a mere tease and joke when compared to the size of the remaining undeveloped area in the state of Maine.

Yes, I agree with you that it's quite small compared to the remainder of the undeveloped land. And I don't think that will change the mind of the local people. You asked if I thought another national park would happen in Maine and I really don't see the people changing their minds. The concept of another national park in Maine has been presented to the people for many years and each time was received coolly. The local Maine residents see Acadia and don't want another Acadia. In this respect I happen to agree with them. The strict regulations of Baxter has been able to maintain one of the most beautiful parks over the years. I've been a visitor to both for almost thirty years. Both are gorgeous areas. Acadia has struggled to keep up with the wear and tear of the influx of visitors and was losing the battle for a number of years. My compliments to all the volunteers and fundraisers of Friends of Acadia who in recent years have made tremendous strides in maintaining the park. The pressure on a national park is tremendous.

[twochordcool]

Redhawk, I think you have national forests confused with national parks.

The US does a LOUSY job "protecting" national forests, but national parks are given a higher degree of protection.

[twochordcool]

And peanut butter, if they made the entire Mount Desert Island a national park, as they should have, I imagine they would not be having half the problems.

Besides this, I am sure that it helps their economy tremendously.

I was there and I was impressed with the beauty of the place and very unimpressed by the size of it - America doesn't need any more scrawny "Shenandoah National Parks". If we could manage to do the right thing, the east coast needs their own "Glacier National Park" or "Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness" - ie. something MASSIVE.

[Boreal Chickadee]

National parks may have a higher degree of protection than National Forests but Baxter State Park has a higher degree of protection than either.

If I'm understanding Hawk correctly (I don't like to speak for another) a good example of Hawk's stance is the use of snowmobiles in Yellowstone.

[Boreal Chickadee]

I am defintiely FOR protecting land. Another National Park in Maine is going to be a tough sell to the people of Maine. they haven't bought into the idea in the past and it will take great leaps of faith for them to buy into it in the future.

I would love to see more land protected here, there and everywhere.

This July will be the 30th year that since I first saw Acadia and Baxter. The National Parks are so cash strapped it is a sin. Each year there is less and less money to do more and more. The rangers would LOVE to do more. The government, our federal government does not provide them the cash to do so. Instead just the opposite has happened. Money is less, so educational programs have been cut and those that are offered now sometimes come with a fee. My son and I werre on Maine TV news a couple of years ago when selected trailheads were finally provided with toilets. It's one of the best moves the park has made. The immediate woods for all those years had been littered with toilet paper and fecal matter in a park that sees over two million visitors a year. Two million. The group Friends of Acadia have picked up the cost of maintaining trails, carriage roads etc. Register at a campground and you are taken care of mostly by volunteers supervised by a ranger. Now it is wondeful that so many people care about Acadia but our government doesn't provide the proper resources ($) to protect resources that are irreplaceable(the land, woods, and water).

National Park status will bring overwhelming pressure to an area. Is our government prepared to step up to the plate and protect an area as it should be protected?

[Boreal Chickadee]

A little backgorund on the history of Acadia: Briefest of brief, the oversimplified version-George Dorr spearheaded a campaign to buy up or have land donated to a group to protect land on Mt Desert Island. Dorr was one of the wealthy on the island and he died in poverty because he believed in the protection of this land, spending his personal fortune to purchase land as it became available when other funding was not. Very similar to Perceival Baxter in that respect (but Baxter did not die indigent). Visit the overgrown site of Dorr's home, the only thing left are the overgrown stone steps and patio bricks; his house being lost in the great fire. Maybe it's just me, but there's a great peace there and it's almost haunting walking the stone steps in the midst of the woods....Well anyway, the land eventually through much work, wrangling and passing through a couple of different designations, became a national park. Did you know that the federal govenment didn't want this land for a park? Shortsighted vision. And it's present name is due to a large donation of land in return for renaming the park to Acadia.

Incidentally, the carriage roads, constructed by Rockefeller, were because he abhored cars on the island and wanted a place to ride his horses without the da**ed internal combustion engines to annoy him.

Each time I go to Acadia I say a little thank you to George Dorr.

[twochordcool]

The government should.

But I'd be willing to pay a fee at a national park, as long as I knew that it was going directly to buying up land.

They ought to do a poll to see who is willing to pay $20 to enter a national park - I'd be willing to, and I think most wilderness lovers would be willing to, especially if they are given a promise that money would be used wisely, including adding acres to vital parks - I think national forests bordering national parks should be absorbed right into that national park.

What is going on in Maine is COMPLETE BS. There is a REAL opportunity to save SIGNIFICANT wilderness there but there is a lack of money and forward-thinking brains in the area - and the government is too busy with a HORRIFICALLY expensive HORRIFIC war and a MORONIC space program to do something good like invest in a national park in the northeast or give everyone in the country health care.

Why are those people so against the idea of a national park there? At the rate it's been cut, are there really that many forestry related jobs left there? I've heard there are significantly less of those jobs now than there used to be back in the day.

They'd rather have rich out-of-state AH's come in and build second homes that they themselves could not afford in their back yard?

I'm sure there has got to be local pride there about the legendary Maine Woods - would it be so terrible to recognize it's significance and beauty and designate it as something that should be preserved forever?

Or do they really prefer miles of tree stumps and pesticides?

And the Allagash? What a freakin' joke? Wilderness? It's a river with 10 foot buffer zone beauty strips on each side of it - and just beyond it is God only knows.

What the hell is the matter with people?

[twochordcool]

Dorr was one of the wealthy on the island and he died in poverty because he believed in the protection of this land, spending his personal fortune to purchase land as it became available when other funding was not

And any just God would welcome him into Paradise!

(and I'm not even religious)

I would have done the exact same thing. I often dream about winning the mega millions and being able to do something noble like that!

[redhawk]

Redhawk, I think you have national forests confused with national parks.

The US does a LOUSY job "protecting" national forests, but national parks are given a higher degree of protection.

No, No Confusion. There may be a higher degree of protection, but we now have "a higher degree of protection" in airport security. feel any safer??

[twochordcool]

No, No Confusion. There may be a higher degree of protection, but we now have "a higher degree of protection" in airport security. feel any safer??

Well I'll take almost anything over watching it continue to get clear cut AND EVEN WORSE start to be developed.

I'm really quite sick of reading about the legendary Maine Woods, when it currently is nothing more than potential.

[Rik]

Yah, a national park would be cool. A loop road. Some lodging. Snowmobiles. Hordes of people. Paved trails. Where do I send my $20? Most national parks already charge an entrance fee. Also, we are going to need an airport nearby and a superhighway on each side of it. Helicopter rides would be fun too. The national parks are all gems but are starting to feel a little like amusement parks.