Our Maine Street's Aroostook Issue 24 : Spring 2015 | Page 54

I’m a hunter and a fisherman. I like to
snowmobile, hike and canoe. I understand the
important role these traditional activities play in
the region’s economy. That’s why we will protect
them forever by making sure that snowmobiling
and hunting are preserved in the national
recreation area.
Right now, we have an opportunity for action.
Next year, the National Park Service will celebrate
its 100th anniversary, and there’s a renewed,
bipartisan commitment in Congress to honor the
occasion. There’s a window of opportunity now!
Unlike other some proposals to create new
public lands, the new national park and national
recreation area have the important elements
necessary to bridge differences.
It becomes conservation with access to
sportsmen, appealing to hunters, fishermen and
snowmobilers alike. It’s limited in size and scope,
with a commitment to honoring Maine’s forest
legacies. There are plans being developed to
ensure that local voices are part of any planning
for the park and recreation area. It includes a $40
million endowment, evidence of a new type of
public-private partnership.
Around the Katahdin region, there’s new energy
and a new urgency for action around a national
park and recreation area.
In Congress, there’s opportunity to move beyond
the gridlock to create something special in the
state of Maine.
Already, people are starting to discover the
beauty and the potential of a new national park
and recreation area. We’re calling the land the
Katahdin Woods & Waters Recreation Area
(www.katahdinwoods.org).

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SPRING 2015

Photo courtesy of Elliotsville Plantation Inc.