HOULTON – The Aroostook County commissioners have joined their counterparts in Piscataquis County, as well as municipal officials in several Maine towns, in opposing a proposal for a national park in northern Maine.

The commissioners’ resolution, which was approved at their Sept. 20 meeting in Caribou, was formally signed at Wednesday’s meeting in Houlton.

The resolution points out that the forest products industry has been a major force in northern Maine for more than 300 years, and that the creation of a park and preserve in the upper third of the state “would effectively eliminate a major part of that forest industry in the state, cause a major collapse of the area’s current economy, and force the relocation of thousands of people needing new employment.”

The 3.2 million-acre national park has been proposed by RESTORE: The North Woods, a Massachusetts-based environmental group. The park would stretch from the Quebec border in western Maine east to include the area surrounding Baxter State Park, much of Moosehead Lake and portions of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway.

Commissioner Peter S. Kelley of Caribou said Thursday that he was opposed to the park not only for the economic reasons, but also because it isn’t needed.

An avid outdoorsman who enjoys hiking, Kelley said, “The region already has adequate outdoor recreational facilities with Baxter State Park, Aroostook State Park and the Allagash Waterway.”

He said the mixed use of the state’s forests in western Maine for both industry and recreation has worked well for generations.

“Let’s keep it that way,” he said.

“A tremendous adverse impact could occur if it was set aside as a national park,” he continued, noting that in addition to jobs, there would be a ripple effect on the region’s economy with the loss of repairs and purchases of equipment that is used in forest-related industries.

In urging the state’s congressional delegation and candidates for those posts to oppose the park, the commissioners said in their resolution that “private ownership and public use of land is a Maine tradition and way of life worthy of preserving; and the people of the affected area clearly do not support the concept of a national park.”