GREAT POND – The only recreational camping area in Maine specifically marketed toward active and retired military personnel is looking to expand.

The Great Pond Outdoor Adventure Center in rural northern Hancock County recently held a public meeting to announce plans to build seven new cabins on its 375-acre parcel.

“We’re kind of still in the process,” Judy Manzo, manager of the adventure center, said late last week. “The land is owned by the Navy, so it’s not as easy as approving a local project.”

The site has eight cabins that date back to the 1950s, along with 15 campsites and five yurts, a kind of wood-framed tent. The new, two-bedroom cabins would be about 900 square feet each. Collectively, the project would cost about $1.7 million and would be funded with federal dollars through the Navy’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation program.

John W. James, director of communications at the Naval Air Station in Brunswick, said the Great Pond facility, believed to be the only one of its kind in Maine, is a popular retreat for military personnel.

“It’s getting more popular all the time,” he said. “We’ve really tried to turn it into a year-round resort rather than a seasonal facility.”

Reservations are first-come, first-served, but the fees are deeply discounted for all branches of the U.S. military, including Air and Army National Guard members. Preference is given to soldiers who recently have returned from active duty overseas, James said.

The Navy took over the facility several years ago from the Air Force when the former Loring Air Force Base in Limestone closed.

Manzo, who manages the site with help from a four-member staff, said the facility was booked solid through the Memorial Day weekend. Aside from the cabins and campsites, there is a large recreation center with games, a big-screen television and wireless Internet capabilities. The center also offers boats, canoes and kayaks for use on Great Pond.

The expansion project still needs local approval, but there were no concerns at a public meeting in Great Pond last week, Manzo said. The project also would need a congressional go-ahead because it involves a branch of the military, James said, but if all goes well construction could start in spring 2010.

While the facility is limited to military personnel, the Navy has consistently shared use of the property, allowing public access for fishing and also for training exercises by local law enforcement and fire departments.

erussell@bangordailynews.net

664-0524