A conversation with AMC Executive Director Andy Falender and AMC Deputy Director Walter Graff
What makes the Maine Woods Initiative such an exciting project?
Walter Graff: There’s a sense of wildness in the Maine Woods Initiative area that’s unlike even what we can find in the White Mountains. We want to preserve that for generations to come. Almost to a person, anyone who’s come and visited has come away with a sense of pride in what AMC is working on up there, trying to protect and preserve a critical resource. We have two sporting camps open to the public, Little Lyford and Medawisla, and have recently acquired a third—Chairback Mountain Camps. And we are partnering with a fourth camp, West Branch Pond Camps, one the oldest camps in Maine. This string of camps will be the basis for camp-to-camp skiing and hiking, providing unique, multi-day, backcountry experiences.
Andy Falender: When we talk about sporting camps and the opportunity to ski or hike from sporting camp to sporting camp, and when we describe the excitement of a visit to this vast and remote place with pristine lakes, magnificent wildlife, comfortable and unique sporting camps, and backcountry camping areas, people change their image of what the project is all about. They go from thinking of this as an interesting conservation project to thinking of themselves being there and being able to enjoy something that’s very special. It offers a type of outdoor experience you really don’t have a chance to get anywhere else in the eastern United States.
How does the Maine Woods Initiative fit within AMC’s mission?
W.G.: We’ve taken over management of an area that has been an industrial forest, with mountains and the Appalachian Trail going right through it, but with our long-range land management goals, this will be a much wilder place than it is now. As we remove some of the roads, as we do restorative forestry, as we put certain areas aside for their ecological values, people will look back at this place as being a much wilder place than it is today.
One of key things about this project is that it’s in some ways a culmination of all the things we have been doing over 15 to 20 years in the Northern Forest. We’ve built up a strong volunteer and professional base that allows us to take on a project of this magnitude. I think it’s the energy of all those constituents, the volunteers and the staff, that will really make this project work. We’ve seen it in volunteers from the Maine chapter and other chapters who are doing volunteer trail work. We’ve seen it with the dedication of our campaign committee who has worked for years to launch this campaign. We’ve seen it with Board leadership and with education volunteers and volunteer naturalists. We’ve also seen it with our professional staff, our research staff doing ecological surveys and assessments, putting together forestry plans, really making this whole project work on a larger scale. We’ve created jobs and are supporting the local economy. It’s not just a land protection effort, it’s a project that includes recreation, forestry, ecological protection, education, and all of the pieces fitting together as a greater whole.
What changes are in store for the greater Moosehead Lake region, and how can AMC make a difference?
W.G.: There have been enormous changes in forestland ownership in Maine. Since 1997, something on the order of 6 million acres have changed hands. One of the roles AMC can play is helping to guide that change by making available our expertise in cartography, forest ecology, backcountry management, trail planning and construction to the local communities, and in our particular project, to provide areas set aside for non-motorized recreation for hikers, for skiers, and areas set aside for ecological protection. But we want to do it all with a sense of balance, where we’re working directly with the local communities.
A.F.: I’d again go back to the White Mountains analogy, and say what we’re experiencing now is a speeded- up version of what happened in the White Mountains a few generations ago. Just as development happened there, we know it’s going to happen in the Moosehead Lake region. The recent entry of Plum Creek to the scene just reinforces that concern. If anything, we’re seeing change take place at a much faster rate than we anticipated even three years ago.
How does Plum Creek’s development plan for the region impact our project?
W.G.: We’ve said from the start that the scale of the Plum Creek proposal has the potential to have a huge impact on the Moosehead region, and we believe their final concept plan should reflect local values and needs to include things like permanent conservation, protection of the remote and undeveloped character of the area, and continued public access. We are also working with the greater community and LURC to ensure the final outcome on the land works for all parties.
Why is the capital campaign so important?
A.F.: We are funding this project entirely through the Maine Woods Initiative Capital Campaign and will be asking all of our members to participate in some way. While other funding sources are tremendously important, it is really members who will make this project a success. One hundred years ago, AMC members looked at what was happening in the White Mountains, raised funds, and took action to create the White Mountain National Forest. Now it’s our turn to help create a similar legacy.
- Rob Burbank
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