FORWARD ON THE ALLAGASH

Having concluded that 15 or more years of dispute over the intended use of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway was likely enough, Gov. John Baldacci put together a group to create a means for cooperation. The group’s draft report, released this week, is a welcome step backward.

Backward is welcome in this case because separate agendas among Maine citizens have pushed the state repeatedly into conflict – over access, manmade structures, aesthetics – but mostly over what wilderness means. By stepping back and asking Maine citizens and government officials to come to agreement on the goals of the waterway, the strategies for getting there should become more apparent, and the individual considerations such as whether an access point is appropriate or whether to preserve a building should answer themselves.

That is the optimistic hope, anyway, and the reason for optimism is that the Allagash Wilderness Waterway Working Group has proposed more public access to the waterway’s oversight through its AWW Board of Overseers, which would include the conservation commissioner, attorney general, director of the Maine State Planning Office and two public members – one from the each congressional district. This is a small board, and while the working group properly recognized the need for geographic diversity, it might also have noted diversity of opinion within a district and, without letting the board become too large to function, had, say, two public members from each district.

The purpose of the oversight board would be to develop strategies for managing the waterway and improve relations between those managing the waterway and the public. It would participate in the hiring of the waterway director, conduct hearings, work with local landowners and keep lawmakers apprised of issues. The board would also be charged with getting more money to support the management direction it chooses.

The working group offers three useful specifics for the board’s mission:

. Protect and improve the wilderness of the waterway, including the surrounding watershed, to enhance the experience of its primary users, canoeists and fishermen.

. Respect the history and culture of the Allagash region by preserving and restoring historic sites and artifacts.

. Support low-impact recreational and educational uses of the waterway that “respect the integrity of the natural areas and history of the peoples of the area” consistent with current waterway programs. “Low impact,” the group emphasizes, means uses now permitted in the waterway as described by statute.

No single organization is going to like all of the group’s recommendations, and no single organization is supposed to. The point of the draft report is to bring various factions – from those who want more day use to those who highlight a maximum wilderness experience on the waterway – together to improve understanding and discover ways develop strategies to meet common goals.

That is not the place Maine might have expected to be more than 40 years after the waterway was recognized by the federal government, but an open process, respectful of local culture and determined to protect the waterway, is the right response to find a way forward.