It was just over three weeks ago that President Barack Obama designated 87,000 acres of remote Maine forestland as a national monument. But there are lots of details to work out: Recreational access, potential fees and timber harvesting were among the top concerns expressed by a crowd of more than 150 people who met Thursday evening in Stacyville to discuss the future of the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.
Christina Marts, a National Park Service community planner, acknowledges that there are still a lot of raw feelings over the decision by the Roxanne Quimby family to deed their acreage over to the federal government.
“It is a time of great change and there is a lot that is in flux in the communities and in economies and in the greater region,” Marts says.
Before Quimby purchased the land, area residents had free access to the acreage. Marts says that the management plan for the monument provides an opportunity for the those in the region to play a role in determining the land’s future use.
“This process is really a way to understand what some of those changes are and what people want to see for the future so that we can actively be involved in working together to create a better sustainable approach for the economy and the region,” she says.
But regardless of the assurances offered by the National Park Service, Raymond Foss says there are reasons why many attending the listening session still harbor doubts about the monument and how it will affect their lives.
“There’s a certain distrust for government that’s grown in the last 40 years or better,” he says.
Foss, Patten's town manager and an administrator for two other area towns, says members of the Patten ATV Club won’t have to wait for a management plan to see what their future is — they already know that their access to the land to operate all terrain vehicles is now gone, even though the Quimby family did not object to that use.
“Now they’re being barred because of the way that National Park Service rules are,” Foss says. “So that’s one specific issue. Yes, there are a lot of concerns about access; there’s a lot of concerns about traditional uses.”
During the listening session, members of audience gathered in small groups to identify areas that they hope will be addressed by the management plan, such as fire protection, enforcement of state hunting and fishing laws and timber harvesting.
“In terms of what we know so far about the national monument proclamation, we haven’t seen anything that says timber harvesting can’t happen, but we also know it’s national park policy not to allow timber harvesting, but we’re hopeful that with this management plan process maybe this is a way to formulate and change that policy in some meaningful way,” says Dana Doran, executive director of the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine.
Connie Theriault of Stacyville was among those who are still skeptical, but believe the monument could work if handled properly. She got some applause from the audience when she urged government officials to pursue a national forest plan for the monument rather than a potential national park designation.
“If people will really work together then we can get somewhere, but if they already have their plan in place, it’s kind of a waste of time,” Theriault says.
The second of four planned meetings on the monument management plan is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20, at the Medway Middle School.