[at-l] Maine AT Land Trust

[Bob C." <ellen@clinic.net (Bob C.)]

A progress report on the Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust on this bright,
sunny and cold (in Maine anyway)Thanksgiving. We had our fifth board meeting on
Monday, and concentrated on a review of priority areas. We reached a consensus
that initial priority will be the large area east of the Gulf Hagas canyon and
south of the Gulf Hagas to Whitecap Range.

Our thinking. This is an incredible beautiful area, with crystal clear streams,
remote, undeveloped lakes and ponds, spectacular waterfalls, home to rare plants
and panoramic views of Katahdin and Maine's wildland lake country. It helps also
that the AT in the area is mostly a narrow corridor; the land is on the market
by a major insurance and pension fund and that AMC is also interested.

Nothing has been finally decided, but we expect our role would be to help
acquire and protect the portion adjacent to the trail, and perhaps partner with
a timber company and other groups to protect the adjacent viewshed from
incompatible development, while allowing traditional harvesting of wood products
to continue.

 Our directors are mostly environmental workaholics. Some of us have broad trail
 experience including three thru hikers, The rest are skilled in financial and
 organizational affairs.

The combination seems to be working. We have attracted an impressive advisory
committee, including:

 Four-term US Congressman Tom Allen of Maine's First District.

Richard Barringer, avid hiker, a research professor at the Edmund S. Muskie
School of Public Policy, and former Maine Commissioner of Conservation and
director of the State Planning Office. Dick was also the first director of the
Bureau of Public Lands, created by the Legislature during the controversy over
the return to state control of 400,000 acres of long forgotten public lands. He
negotiated the first out of court settlements, one of which created the 40,000
acre Mahoosuc Preserve, that protects 24 miles of the trail from the New
Hampshire border through the Baldpates.

Dave Field, chair of the Department of Forest Management at the University of
Maine, who served six years as president of the Appalachian Trail Conference and
who has maintained the trail over Saddleback since he was 16 -- 40 years ago.

Leon Gorman, a trail maintainer, who in 1967 took over the reins of LL Bean
following the death of his grandfather and transformed a struggling mail order
and retail business located in a ramshackle downtown Freeport building into one
of the world's largest and most successful outdoor oriented mail order and
retail firms.

Ray Owen, who interrrupted a 30 year career as a professor and later chair of
the Department of Wildlife Ecology at the University of Maine, to serve four
years as Maine's Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Neil Rolde, trail supporter and author of a biography of the Percival Baxter
family and numerous books dealing with Maine history and the Maine forest.

Our major need now are founding members to fund organization costs and to
demonstrate to the major foundations and contributors that we are a viable group
with broad trail community support.

If anyone wants to help, our mailing address is Maine Appalachian Trail Land
Trust, PO Box 325, Yarmouth, Maine 04096. Basic dues are $35.  "Founding"
members get to contribute $100. But we take donations of any amount and promise
to put them to good use in protecting and providing buffers for the trail in
Maine.

 Weary