Mounts kingdom new lands full#

On and off discussions for some kind of parkland occurred throughout the ensuing decades. Henry David Thoreau first proposed that the Mount Katahdin be set aside as a “national preserve” in the 1800s. He suggested that its wildlands, especially the area surrounding Katahdin, Maine’s greatest mountain, should be protected as a “national preserve.” Henry David Thoreau made three trips to the Maine Woods in the 1840-50s. The idea for a preserve in Maine Woods has a long history.

Mounts kingdom new lands full#

What happened to change the opposition to reluctant support to full embracement of the park is a tale worth telling. Local opposition in Millinocket, the principal gateway community, and the rest of Northern Maine, was almost unanimous. Both of these Senators voiced their opposition (King was elected governor of Maine that year), as well as nearly all “conservation groups” in the state. When RESTORE the North Woods first proposed creating a national park and preserve in the Maine Woods in 1994, there was almost universal opposition to the idea. If the Maine Woods National Park vision were fully realized, it would be a huge carbon reserve.

The Maine Woods are a vast forested and lake studded area that reminds me of Alaska. Anyone who has visited Jackson, Wyoming lately knows it is anything but a ghost town. In an article I wrote for Sierra Magazine, I detailed how local opposition to parks, monuments, and other protective designations has nearly always turned into local support.įor instance, when Grand Teton National Park was being proposed, locals in Jackson, Wyoming, opposed the park, suggesting that Jackson would become a “ghost town” if the park were established. Photo George WuerthnerĮven though there is often strong local opposition to new parks, wilderness or other public lands designations, over time people generally see the benefits of public lands and special protection and come to support it. Rafters on Big A Falls West Branch Penoscot River, Maine. They wrote a letter to President Obama outlining “ serious reservations.” However, to their credit they are now supporters of the monument. Both Senators initially opposed the proposal for a unit of the National Park System in the Maine Woods. The support for enlarging Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument by both Senators provides a lesson in conservation history that I’ve seen repeatedly. Combined with the 210,000-acre state park, the 46,270-acre Debsconeag Lakes Wilderness Area owned by The Nature Conservancy and the Appalachian Mountain Club’s 102,000-acre Maine Woods Initiative, the area is the largest tract of protected wildlands in the state.įourth Debsconeag Lake in The Nature Conservancy’s Debsconeag Lakes Wilderness Area. The 87,500-acre monument lies east of Baxter State Park. Legislation introduced by Maine Senators Collins and King would enlarge the monument and move the boundary closer to Millinocket.

The town of Millinocket, Maine is a former mill town that is now gateway to the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument and Baxter State Park.