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View Full Version : Katahdin Lake land deal compromise in the works



Tin Man
03-07-2006, 23:23
Katahdin compromise in the works (http://www.bangornews.com/news/templates/?a=130147)

Almost There
03-08-2006, 01:41
MM....Must Kill Animals in order to be happy!!! Repubs must show manhood!!! Shall this also be a caveman sanctuary???Since when is not building a shelter on top of Katahdin the same as allowing hunting and trapping???One lessens the human impact on Katahdin...the other allows humans to kill animals. The Repubs logic...defies logic! I'm not a treehugging PETA type of person but I gotta laugh at this dude's logic because it doesn't exist...and sorry I think Baxter could have lived without the shelter on Katahdin...but hunting in the park??? Lame excuse!!!

TJ aka Teej
03-08-2006, 15:54
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/state/060305baxterside.shtml
What would Gov. Baxter want?

By JOHN RICHARDSON, Portland Press Herald Writer

Hunting access in or around Baxter State Park is far from a new issue. Percival Baxter had to deal with the same feud when creating the park more than 50 years ago.
Now, an access dispute is jeopardizing a park expansion plan, and each side claims Baxter would be in its camp.
"I don't think if he was still alive he would allow half of what's going on," said Danny Hinse of East Millinocket. Baxter would keep the land open to hunting and other uses, he said.
Not so, says Howard Whitcomb, a retired political science professor who spent three years compiling Baxter's writings, speeches and instructions.
Baxter did compromise with the hunting community when adding one of the final pieces to the park in 1955. But his writings and the way he set up the park clearly indicate hunting and other recreational uses were not part of his plan, said Whitcomb, who is now a member of the board of Friends of Baxter State Park.
"I don't think there's any questions of what his intentions would have been," he said.
Baxter, Maine's governor from 1921-1925, gave the first part of the park to the state almost exactly 75 years ago. He presented the deed to Mount Katahdin on March 3, 1931. It was the first piece of what he consistently described as a sanctuary for birds and beasts.
Over 32 years, he acquired and donated 28 parcels of the park, totaling 200,000 acres. He overcame lots of obstacles, although hunting access didn't emerge as an issue until 1949. That year the park encroached on popular hunting areas and, says Whitcomb, "he confronted vociferous opposition."
That April, Baxter shared his thoughts about the controversy in a letter to his nephew, John L. Baxter of Brunswick. "The park will serve as a breeding ground for wild life which as it increases will gradually spread out into the areas around the park open to hunting," he wrote. "This is something that the hunters should appreciate."
>news story continues at link above<

Mr. Clean
03-09-2006, 07:12
I do understand where the "locals" are coming from, feeling that they give and give with no returns, and now they must take a stand against more being taken from them. But I feel that they are not seeing the big picture here, that they will get lands saved for them for hunting/snowmobiling forever. I guess that they haven't said where those lands would be, though, so there is the feeling of no guarantees.
I had hoped that everyone was going to be happy with this land deal, but it seems that someone is going to go home unhappy.

TJ aka Teej
03-09-2006, 08:55
But I feel that they are not seeing the big picture here, I talked with a person from Medway who opposes the deal and was told that it was *me* who wasn't seeing the big picture! One part of the picture that can't be denied is that Gov. Baxter wanted the Park to be a game preserve.

raxafarian
03-15-2006, 11:39
I setup a site to discuss the issue if anyone is interested
http://katahdinlake.com/

TJ aka Teej
04-06-2006, 10:05
"'Silliest proposal ever' is jewel for Mainers"

It looks as though a political compromise at the State House this week will finally lead to a significant expansion of Baxter State Park, the crown jewel of wilderness Maine.

By a nearly unanimous vote, the legislative Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry embraced a plan to split a 6,000 acre addition to the park into two separately administered parcels.
About two-thirds of the yet-to-be acquired land encompassing Katahdin Lake, with its breathtaking views of the mountain, would be managed as a wilderness preserve in line with the overall philosophy of the park. The remaining third of the acreage would be run by the Bureau of Public Lands and open to hunting, fishing, trapping and other outdoor sports activities.
Gov. John Baldacci promptly hailed the deal, calling the proposed Katahdin Lake acquisition "Maine's most significant conservation project in 100 years."
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Evidently Baldacci doesn't consider the creation of Baxter State Park "significant"...
rest of the story: http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/view/columns/2608200.shtml (http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/view/columns/2608200.shtml)