sgusers4的部落格

Source: Portland Press Herald, MaineSept.self storage 09--The land-holding organization managing Roxanne Quimby's land beside Baxter State Park is opening 40,000 acres to hunting this week, marking a stark change in the policy that upset hunters and guides the past decade.Sportsmen overwhelmingly voiced gratitude at the change in policy over access to the land owned by Elliotsville Plantation Inc. However, the strong opposition to a federally run national park, which is Quimby's dream, remains in northern Maine.Lucas St. Clair, Quimby's son and the president of the plantation board, said in a press release the intention is to "make good on our commitments to expand public access and ensure that these recreational activities are allowed from now on."However, St. Clair went further in an interview, saying the new access policy is a "dress rehearsal" for the kind of "National Park Service unit" the plantation actually is putting together in northern Maine, where hunting and motorized recreation would be allowed."The goal is to draft legislation to make sure everything that is put into place stays in place, and that it is absolutely clear what's allowed. The idea is to allow hunting and snowmobiling. And I know it can happen because I've seen (national parks) where it does," St. Clair said.However, guides and sportsmen who expressed gratitude also had deep reservations about the future.The tradition in northern Maine, where large forest companies own vast tracks of timberland, is to leave land open for recreation, and allow fishermen, hunters, boaters and hikers access to the northern forestland.When Quimby started acquiring land there and formed the landholding company in 2002, "No Hunting" signs went up."It touched a nerve," said Patten ATV club president Garth Glidden.However, starting this week within Elliotsville Plantation, 40,000 acres will offer improved access. On the land, now called "Katahdin Woods and Waters," logging roads will be upgraded and grouse and deer habitat will be improved to make "world-class hunting," St. Clair said.The 40,000 acres sits east of the East Branch of the Penobscot River near Shin Pond, Patten, Staceyville and on lands southwest of Baxter State Park.Glidden said the new policy will have a major impact, as more ATV riders along the land surrounding Baxter State Park travel between small, rural towns there."It will bring a lot of recreation into the communities, to Patten and Shin Pond and Sherman Station. Before this, we had no way to get to Shin Pond. I think it helps out the community quite a bit," Glidden said.However, sportsmen also see the change in policy as one with an uncertain future because of the looming prospect of a national park.Maine Professional Guides Association director Don Kleiner appreciated the new open-door policy, but voiced uncertainty at future policies."It seems like someone is listening," Kleiner said. "They essentially locked hunting out of their land and it had an impact on a number of businesses. Since Lucas has taken over, to his credit, he's done a good job reaching out to people."But the whole federal presence still makes us all nervous. Part of the perception is that the feds are an insatiable beast looking to expand their holding and influence, and further restrict activities. The devil is in the detail."Hunting guide Joe Christianson, who lost his bear bait sites when Quimby acquired the pl迷你倉ntation land, feels that uncertainty.At Matagamon Wilderness Camps near Patten, Christianson caters to about 50 bear hunters and as many deer hunters in the fall. He also guides for fishing in the spring and serves summer tourists, but hunters make up 60 percent of his annual business, he said.The fear of a national park that would close land to hunting is real for him."It's a really good thing they opened it. I can't imagine anyone is saying anything negative," Christianson said. "It is hard telling if they do get the national park what's going to happen. Then it will be out of their hands. Then everything is subject to change."Bob Meyers, executive director of the Maine Snowmobile Association, said a national park with a no-hunting and no-snowmobile policy, put simply, would change the face of the culture in northern Maine.He said for snowmobilers, who were written into the plantation management plan last winter, that remains a big concern."Every time land that was previously closed is open to people of Maine (the landowner) should be commended. It's the Maine tradition," Meyers said. "But I don't see it as a game-changer."However, plantation spokesman David Farmer said a national park plan, at the moment, looks at turning roughly 70,000 to 75,000 acres into a traditional national park, where hunting and snowmobiling and ATVs would be prohibited; and another half of some 150,000 acres going to a "national recreation area," where such uses would be allowed.St. Clair said the park would be created with legislation in Congress, and he will make certain the legislation maintains a level of access for all outdoor users for years to come.St. Clair said the new land access policy at the "Katahdin Woods and Waters" property is a real example of what's ahead."I realize the reservations around the federal government, but Maine has little experience with publicly owned land. Under 5 percent of the land in Maine is publicly owned. And we only have three National Park Service units and they're unusual," St. Clair said.Those three National Park Service units -- Acadia National Park, the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, and the Appalachian Trail -- offer limited insights into the variety of national parks that exist, because they are unusual in their size or dimensions, Lucas said.Both the Allagash and the Appalachian Trail are narrow travel corridors, and Acadia is small compared to other national parks that also see as many as 2.5 million visitors annually.St. Clair said there also are 70 national park units out of a total of 401 across the country where hunting and snowmobiling are allowed, and Maine could have another unit where such activities were allowed if the enabling legislation specified it.For now, St. Clair said he is focused on listening to more people and groups in northern Maine as the plantation land is used and enjoyed by more outdoors people."I don't feel (right now) like having national support is as important as having vocal support in the Katahdin region. By opening up access the plan is to make this as appealing to as many people there as possible," St. Clair said.Deirdre Fleming can be contacted at 791-6452 or at: dfleming@pressherald.comTwitter: @FlemingpphCopyright: ___ (c)2013 the Portland Press Herald (Portland, Maine) Visit the Portland Press Herald (Portland, Maine) at .pressherald.com Distributed by MCT Information Services文件倉