March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Aid a boon to North Woods plan> Hailed or damned, West Branch Project’s a go

AUGUSTA — Gov. Angus King owes President Clinton a fishing trip on Moosehead Lake. Maine’s governor promised the president the trip if the state got federal funds to kick off the West Branch Project, an ambitious plan to conserve more than 650,000 acres north and east of Moosehead.

On Monday, King said, “I owe him one,” in announcing the receipt of $4 million in federal funds to start the $8 million phase one of the project to purchase land and development rights on 71,993 acres plus 12 miles of Moosehead Lake shoreline,

The governor called the plan “a historic opportunity to protect a huge area of Maine’s fabled North Woods” west of Baxter State Park. But opponents like Rep. Henry Joy, R-Crystal, called the West Branch Project “another step towards a federal park in northern Maine.”

With the Augusta Arboretum as a press conference backdrop, King said the “bold, historic plan” to conserve an area the size of Rhode Island containing priceless recreation and forest land was launched through a joint private-public venture that was assured with the receipt of $4 million in federal funds. The funds had “no strings,” and they are not connected to the formation of a national park, he said.

The project will keep the 71,993 acres plus the Moosehead shoreline undeveloped, guarantee public access and protect an important recreation and ecological area, while maintaining it as a productive working forest, the governor said. Maine is in the forefront of national efforts to balance the needs of forests, he said.

Under the first phase of the project, the state will purchase outright the 12 miles of undeveloped shorefront on the northeast side of Moosehead Lake and 4,473 acres around Big Spencer Mountain. The rest of the land, 67,520 acres, will be protected by a conservation easement.

“If we are successful, it will be a great win for the people of Maine, our environment and Maine’s rural economy and it will demonstrate how a public-private venture in collaboration with willing landowners can bring lasting conservation in a way that works for rural states like Maine,” King said.

The Monday announcement means that virtually the entire eastern shore of Moosehead Lake is now protected, King said. The project’s first phase, which is about one third the size of Baxter State Park, took about a year to complete. The governor noted that it took 50 years for Gov. Percival Baxter to put together the park.

Public access to the phase one land, especially near Seboomook Lake and Pittston Farm, will be ensured, the governor said. Federal funds from the Forest Legacy Program and the Land and Water Conservation Fund will pay half the cost of acquiring the land and development rights. The state is expected to contribute about $1 million and the Land for Maine’s Future fund and private donations will provide the remainder of the $8 million project, officials said.

The lands involved are managed by Wagner Forest Management, Ltd. and owned by Great Northwoods LLC and and Yankee Forest LLC.

The Monday announcement was only the beginning, officials said. The state is now negotiating with Wagner Forest Management to extend the same conservation goals to the entire 650,000 acres of land owned by the firms in the area of the West Branch of the Penobscot River. The land includes the headwaters of both the St. John and Penobscot rivers and extends into the upper Kennebec River watershed.

Included in this land are dozens of remote lakes and ponds, hundreds of miles of mountain trails, threatened and endangered plants and animals and old growth forest stands. The lands have been productive forests for a century and will continue to be, King said.

Tom Colgan, president of Wagner Forest Management, said the area is an important part of Maine’s heritage. “We look forward to working with Maine elected officials to devise a plan that ensures maintaining a working forest while protecting this special place and we hope we can eventually reach an agreement on the value of these lands.”

According to Alan Hutchinson, executive director of the nonprofit land conservation group Forest Society of Maine, “You can have your cake and eat it too. This truly speaks to the love that Maine people have for the North Woods. The West Branch Project is an astounding opportunity.”

Not everyone applauds the continuing purchases of working forests for conservationist purposes. Aroostook County resident Henry Joy said people will not wake up to the fact that federal control of the North Woods is “just around the corner.” He fought against raising $50 million for the Land for Maine’s Future and filed unsuccessful legislation to control federal purchases of additional land in the state.

Joy has even suggested that northern Maine become a separate state.

“Whatever happened to the plan to buy more land in southern Maine?” asked the legislator, when informed of the announcement on Monday.


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