Aug. 6, 2017. AMC Medawisla Lodge and Cabins, Maine Woods, Maine-- Photo by Chris Shane.

Responsible Forestry

A new model for forest management in Maine’s North Woods.

The 100-Mile Wilderness lies in the heart of Maine’s North Woods, a region that features some of the largest areas of undeveloped forests, lakes, and ponds in the United States and an area of exceptionally high habitat connectivity and resilience to climate change. Since 2003 AMC has worked to conserve 100,000 acres of this critical forest. As the largest conservation project ever undertaken by the AMC, it uses our decades of conservation planning experience to develop a new model of landownership for the Northeast, balancing responsible timber management with land conservation and community economic development.

From the beginning of AMC’s Maine Woods Initiative, responsible timber management has been a key element of the project, along with backcountry recreation, land conservation, community economic development, and environmental education.  We recognize that the wood products industry is one of the foundations of the local economy and will remain so for a long time. It is not our goal to replace timber harvesting with wilderness-based recreation, but to integrate the two. It is our hope that this combination can provide an array of benefits and options for innovative conservation and demonstrate that conservation is not an “either-or” proposition that pits wilderness against timber.

AMC’s primary goals for our timber management program are to maintain a significant portion of the property in a natural condition; provide a high level of protection to ecological, scenic, and recreational resources; create a more mature forest that resembles the region’s natural forests; increase carbon storage in the forest by harvesting conservatively; and promote the growth of high-quality sawtimber. AMC’s managed forests serve as a “green endowment,” the income from which helps offset the costs of owning the land and supports other MWI programs. AMC works with Huber Resources Corporation, a forestry consulting business based in Old Town, ME. Together with the help of local logging and road maintenance contractors, AMC’s 100,000-acre ownership has become an important part of the regional forest products economy. Our focus on responsible forest management and its integration with purpose-built recreation infrastructure continues to demonstrate innovative approaches to building both ecologic and economic resiliency in the 100-Mile Wilderness region.

AMC’s forest management is Forest Stewardship Council® FSC® - C008922 certified, the global leader in responsible forest certification.

Click here for a short video featuring AMC’s Forest Ecologist Dr. David Publicover on our approach to forest management.

Learn more about responsible forestry

Culvert Before And After
A Decade of Change in the Maine Woods

The following was published in the 2016 Winter/Spring edition of Appalachia. Twelve years ago, in December 2003, the Appalachian Mountain Club bought Little Lyford Pond Camps (as it was...

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Monitoring the Bicknell’s Thrush in the Maine Woods

Most birds start singing just before sunrise, and in June, that means 4 a.m. Dave Cowan had already cleaned up his campsite and was close to the summit of...

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What Responsible Forestry Means at AMC

AMC purchased its first parcel of land in Maine’s 100-mile Wilderness in 2003. Today, AMC owns nearly 75,000 acres of land in the Maine Woods, achieving landscape-scale conservation goals,...

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Action Center

Hard science, focused advocacy, and a whole lot of hands-on work have defined AMC’s conservation mission from the beginning. But it’s your support that carries the day in community meeting houses, in Congress, and in untrammeled wilderness alike. Learn more about our conservation initiatives and how you can contribute through our Conservation Action Network.

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