Western Maine land #1 on federal list

[injektilo]

Nearly 4,000 acres near Grafton Notch SP landed number 1 on a federal conservation priority list. Those who are interested can get more details here...

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/state/060208land.shtml

 

[marty]

Great news. That's a fantastic area (perhaps my favorite).

I am looking forward to hikng there this summer with this big dude whose member name initials are SK

 

[arghman]

I agree it's good news.

...but why the @$@#$ hasn't anyone done anything west of the NH/ME border?

 

[injektilo]

Great news. That's a fantastic area (perhaps my favorite).

I am looking forward to hikng there this summer with this big dude whose member name initials are SK

I may have to join you...

 

[Mike P.]

There are two people here who have not hiked with SK yet? SK you're slipping Actually I'm thinking I have not seen you since 12/04.

 

[Mr. X]

Sherpa Never hiked with me, but i haven't hiked with alot of people...

 

[marty]

There are two people here who have not hiked with SK yet? SK you're slipping Actually I'm thinking I have not seen you since 12/04.

Mike P - I have had the honor of hiking/swimming the flooded Wright Trail up Goose Eye with SK and three others last year. Injektilo met us on the trail (not sure if that counts as hiking with him, though).

Regards,
Marty

 

[Jay H]

Hike with SK!.. I've roped up with SK before

Conservation is always good news to here! My town recently bought some land to connect a town park with the a local forest which is cool.

Jay

 

[TJ aka Teej]

Conservation is always good news to here! My town recently bought some land to connect a town park with the a local forest which is cool.

Conservation is a funny word.
"A key factor in the Grafton Notch project is maintaining the ability for commercial wood cutting to support the region's forest products jobs,"

 

[el-bagr]

Conservation is a funny word.
"A key factor in the Grafton Notch project is maintaining the ability for commercial wood cutting to support the region's forest products jobs,"

Using overstatement to keep my point light-hearted, I'd rather hike on muddy skid roads through clearcuts dripping with lynx and moose than skirt swimming pools in neo-suburban backyards.

Nice job feds. Note that the funds will also protect an area of the lower Penobscot watershed, including the Sunkhaze area that arghman (I think) and others have explored.

 

[arghman]

Note that the funds will also protect an area of the lower Penobscot watershed, including the Sunkhaze area

[thx for posting this news also] I've been to Sunkhaze Meadows NWR once -- tried to find a hiking trail, finally got there but ran out of time & had all of 30 minutes to enjoy the area. Will have to go back...

Central / eastern Maine is a lovely area of many habitats, spruce and bog and rocky shores and blueberry barrens, I wish I had more time to wander around.

edit:

Conservation is a funny word.
"A key factor in the Grafton Notch project is maintaining the ability for commercial wood cutting to support the region's forest products jobs,"

If anyone out there thinks this is doublespeak, I urge you to read "The Northern Forest" by Dobbs and Ober. We live in a time where the preservation of undeveloped forest blocks is stuck in a fragile relationship with the wood products industry. Someone has to own land. If it's not the paper mills or a forestry company, and if the state or private interests can't buy it for conservation purposes, then there are a lot of real estate developers out there with money to spend -- and instead of 1-2% (or whatever the sustainable percentage is) of the forestland being cut down per year while the rest of it regrows, we run the risk of a much higher percentage of forest destruction. If there's less land to harvest timber, this puts a fragile paper industry even more at risk, which in turn puts the local timbering and timberland industries at risk. The last time this dilemma came to a head in NH was in 2001 when International Paper put 200,000+ acres (in Pittsburg & surrounding towns) on the market. A large partnership between state & conservation interests in NH banded together to put a conservation easement on 200,000 acres while facilitating the sale of the property to a company willing to engage in sustainable forestry practices. Conservation + timber interests worked to make a shared use of the property a viable solution, and developers were not (thankfully) part of the picture.

 

[injektilo]

It's been a bit less than 2 years since I started this thread and I'm happy to post that the land in question is protected.

For anyone who is interested, you can read about it here.

 

[Nadine]

Hike with SK!.. I've roped up with SK before

Shared rope with SK, heck, we've shared floor space space together on a cold winters night in Baxter....sleeping on Chimney pond...under the stars...

I think the good Doctor McGillicuddy had something to do with that

 

[Waumbek]

It's been a bit less than 2 years since I started this thread and I'm happy to post that the land in question is protected.

For anyone who is interested, you can read about it here.

Thanks for the update. This is good news. As much as I enjoy the history of the big three turista group--Pinkham, Crawford and Franconia Notches-- I've always kind of wished they'd escaped development like the Grafton Notch largely has and to a lesser extent, the Evans and Kinsman Notches have.