My family and I have enjoyed the Allagash River for many years, before and since it was incorporated into the wilderness waterway. For nine summers my son led canoe trips of high school-age boys down the legendary river. We have watched in dismay as it has crumbled from a genuine wilderness canoe route to a “sportsman’s park” under local pressure, with illegal access points, an illegal dam, parking lots and other encroachments without regard for the values specified in the law.

Poor management by the state threatens to destroy the wilderness aspect, the very reason for the wilderness waterway. Citizen support for a wild Allagash has always been high. More than 90 percent of public comments submitted to the Maine Department of Conservation are evidence of that.

In February 2002 the state adopted a memo of agreement pledging to revise its management plan to incorporate the intent of the “wild river” designation within two years. Nothing has happened. Instead, the King administration, just days before leaving office, filed an application for a new access point.

Those of us who wish to restore a wilderness experience to the Allagash Wilderness Waterway must demand that the original purpose, conceived and established in federal law by U.S. Sen. Edmund Muskie, be adhered to.

Dave Kendall

Dexter