AMC Outdoors, March 2007
Thousands of acres are protected each year through the work of dedicated environmental groups, land trusts, and concerned individuals. Aided by federal, state, and local funding, their efforts have paved the way for dozens of newly conserved parklands. these seven locations stand out as inspirational examples—and as opportunities for fresh outdoor adventure.
Debsconeag Lakes Wilderness Area
100-Mile Wilderness, Maine
A dozen lakes ripple the sylvan terrain of this remote parcel in northern Maine. Bordering Baxter State Park to the southwest, its 41,000 acres of backcountry offer myriad opportunities for deep adventure. The Appalachian Trail weaves 15 miles across it, dozens of remote campsites shelter within it, and multiple canoe routes connect through it. Purchased by The Nature Conservancy in 2002 as part of its 240,000-acre Katahdin Forest Project, the area marks the northern edge of the 100-Mile Wilderness and is a key link in a growing corridor of protected land from Moosehead Lake to Baxter State Park.
Info: www.nature.org/success/katahdin.html, AMC’s Southern Piscataquis Regional Recreation Map and Guide
Nulhegan Basin
Silvio O. Conte NWR, Vermont
The Nulhegan Basin lies deep within the boreal forest of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, and was one of the first parcels acquired for the Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge encompasses the entire 7.2 million-acre Connecticut River basin and was created in 1992 to protect ecologically diverse—and critically threatened—parcels of land within the watershed. In 1999 U.S. Fish and Wildlife bought these 26,000 acres to help safeguard the river’s headwaters. An additional 22,000 acres of state-owned lands adjoin the refuge; both areas are laced with a network of trails, streams, and ponds.
Info: Nulhegan Gateway Association, www.nulhegan.com; Silvio O. Conte NWR, www.fws.gov/r5soc
Mohawk-Monroe Forest Reserve
Berkshires, Massachusetts
Old-growth forest swathes a high ridgeline above Route 2 in western Massachusetts. More than 800 acres of ancient trees pocket the surrounding hills, a mosaic of diverse hardwoods that is now protected within one of the state’s nine newly designated Forest Reserves. The area was originally absent from the slate of proposed locations, but dedicated citizens lobbied for its inclusion. Now it is permanently off-limits to logging, open only for backcountry recreation. Experience it by hiking the 2.1-mile Mahican-Mohawk Trail.
Info: Massachusetts Trail Guide (AMC Books); www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/western/mhwk.htm, 413-339-5504
Skiff Mountain
Litchfield Hills, Connecticut
The Litchfield Hills roll in gentle grandeur above the Housatonic River in northwest Connecticut. The Appalachian Trail has its longest level stretch here; five miles meander along the riverbanks. Above it on both sides rise nearly 6,000 acres of conservation land, including the newest addition to this protected green corridor: Skiff Mountain. The promontory abuts the AT to the west and features several large parcels—and seldom-trod paths—recently protected by The Trust for Public Land and local conservation groups.
Info: Appalachian Trail Guide: Massachusetts–Connecticut, Map 5 (ATC); Trust for Public Land, www.tpl.org
Whitney Park
Adirondacks, New York
Little Tupper Lake funnels deep into the heart of the Adirondacks. Centerpiece of 15,000-acre Whitney Park, this aquatic haven can only be accessed by boat from a single launch site on its northern end. From here the lake extends six miles south, dotted with designated paddle-in campsites on the lake’s islands and 20 miles of waterfront. The southern shore connects with a network of trails that winds through little-traveled woods and past a half dozen remote ponds. The state purchased the area in 1997 with funds from the Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act and Environmental Protection Fund.
Info: www.tupperlake.net/whitney.htm
The Great Swamp
New Jersey Highlands
It was almost an airport. In the late 1950s, the New York-New Jersey Port Authority wanted to install runways and terminals atop wetlands in the upper Passaic River drainage. Instead public outcry led to the establishment of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Today the refuge protects 7,000 acres and miles of level trails ideal for bikers and birders. Yet many parcels are still threatened in the surrounding 35,000-acre watershed. A few recently have been conserved, such as the Revolutionary-era Ross Farm in Somerset. Far more await passage of the 2007 federal budget, which currently includes $1 million for land acquisition.
Info: www.fws.gov/northeaast/greatswamp, 973-425-1222; Great Swamp Watershed Association, www.greatswamp.org
Birdsboro Waters
Pennsylvania Highlands
The Hopewell Big Woods Conservation area includes one of the largest unbroken forests in southeast Pennsylvania. Twelve thousand contiguous acres of protected woodland cloak a rumpled landscape of paths and wooshing streams. And one trail-laced area—Birdsboro Waters—will likely add another 1,842 acres. The parcel borders French Creek State Park to the north and includes a two-mile section of Hay Creek, a trout fishery renowned for first-rate water quality. The Natural Lands Trust is working to secure a conservation easement; it’s the state’s number-one ranked Forest Legacy project for 2007.
Info: Borough of Birdsboro, www.birdsboro.Boroughs.org, 610-582-6030
Contributors
Julie Wormser, AMC director of policy; Kristen Sykes, AMC Mid-Atlantic project manager
- Matt Heid is senior editor at AMC Outdoors.
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