[at-l] Buffer around Baxter?

[ellen at clinic.net (Bob C.)]

>"...Weary, what is it about your "land trust" that you are trying to hide? I'd
>have to caution anyone considering sending a check blindly to Weary's so-called
>"land trust" to wait until he comes clean about what lands (if any) are being
>offered for sale and at what price, and how much of that land will continue to
>be logged after its been purchased by the "land trust."  urges TJ.

For starters I'm not going to name all the landowners we have talked with. That
would just invite competing bids.

 The one public negotiation that is underway is with Mead Westvaco, which
 recently sold most of its 500,000 acres in Maine, but kept out of that sale
 land it owns on Abraham and on Saddleback because our land trust in cooperation
 with the Appalachian Trail Conference had negotiations underway before the big
 sale was contemplated. We are still negotiating a price.

  Abraham will become an ecological preserve, which means no harvesting will
  occur -- except hikers that may pick the bountiful crop of mountain
  cranberries on the Abraham summit ridge. I really don't know what is proposed
  for the Saddleback parcel, though I believe slopes on most of the property are
  too steep for economical wood harvesting.

  As for the Baxter Park buffers, TJ referred us to a newspaper story about the
  annual meeting of the Friends of Baxter. The paper quoted the chief speaker,
  Dean Bennett. I've know Dean for years. He's a retired college professor,
  author of several books, wilderness advocate -- and a founding director of the
  Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust.

  I wasn't at the Friends of Baxter meeting, but a few weeks ago I served on a
  panel discussion with Dean when he made similar comments so I think I have an
  understanding of what he said.

  It's Dean's contention, rightly in my opinion, that a wilderness without
  buffers is not really a wilderness, since the sounds and activity outside the
  designated wilderness area intrudes on and negates the wilderness.

  He was talking about what needed to be done to truly fulfill Governor Baxter's
  dream for a "forever wild" park. It was less a "proposal" than an academic
  discussion of what would be needed

  My comments in an earlier post that TJ thinks were dishonest merely pointed
  out that in my opinion some of the Nature Conservancy purchases serve to
  create the kind of buffer that Dean thinks is needed.  Dean's vision is
  unlikely to be totally achieved, as I also pointed out, since a major logging
  road borders the southern boundary of the park.

  Finally, not all the land we want is on the market, but a great deal of it is.
  Half of Maine, 10 million acres, consists of unorganized townships, i.e.
  places where no municipal governments exist. Some of these lands have changed
  ownerships several times in recent years. Most of these new owners have
  expressed a willingness to negotiate the sale of buffers near the trail.

  We absolutely will purchase the summit ridge of Abraham. We have half the
  money needed already. But it's also critical that we drive a hard bargain with
  the landowner. What we pay for Abraham will obviously affect the price of
  everything we may manage to buy in the future.

  We are hoping the Abraham purchase and the development of a broad-based
  membership will give us the credibility we need to attract major donors for
  future purchases.

  We have a dedicated board of directors. In addition to peons like me, we have
  Dean Bennett, an accountant, three thru hikers, a developer of low income
  housing, a former university chancellor, the retired owner of one of the
  state's major real estate firms, a retired university English professor....

  Our advisory board includes several former heads of state departments, a
  former STate Planning director, a U.S. Congressman, the founder of one of the
  nation's most successful outdoor retail store.....

  These are all high powered folks that are fascinating to work with. I was
  recruited, I guess, because I know the trail and I've founded and served for
  years as a director and now president of a very successful small town land
  trust. I teach them the land trust language. And work on fund-raising
  materials. That's what I was doing tonight until TJ interrupted me.

  Weary