the kennebec highlands

Your Input Needed for the Future of the Kennebec Highlands

Dear Friends,

Like me, you've spent time hiking, biking, skiing, or otherwise enjoying quiet recreation in the Kennebec Highlands. I hope you agree that it's an extremely special area.

We are sending you this message because there is an urgent need for folks interested in the future of the Kennebec Highlands to make their feelings known. The state has drafted a 15-year management plan that will govern how the Highlands are stewarded by the State. As members and contributors to this landmark project, I hope you will take few minutes to look over the draft plan at the Department of Conservation web site.

While there is a lot that may catch your attention, please check out the proposed ATV routes. ATVs are currently prohibited in the Kennebec Highlands, but the draft would give four-wheelers access to the property as soon as this fall. Local and regional ATV clubs are seeking a route through the Kennebec Highlands as a means to connect ATV trail systems in New Sharon and Mount Vernon, plus a spur trail to the Blueberry Hill picnic area. The proposed route would utilize approximately eleven miles of existing trails in the Kennebec Highlands, including portions of the Sanders Hill and Round Top hiking loops.

The BRCA Board is concerned that the current proposal will result in user conflicts, environmental damage, and pose major management difficulties. Click here to read BRCA's position paper. (PDF^*)

The Department of Conservation is currently accepting public input on the management plan. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with the planners. You can address your comments to:

Cindy Bastey
Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands
22 State House Station
Augusta, Maine 04333
cindy.bastey@maine.gov

Please make yourself heard soon. The final draft of the management plan is currently being written and is due to be completed by August 22. (The end of formal public comment period is not until September 19, but comments sent in the next week or so are more likely to influence the next draft.) The ATV lobby has been very vocal, and it is crucial that those of us who hike, bike, ski, and otherwise enjoy the Kennebec Highlands in a non-motorized manner make our voices heard as well.

There is also a meeting of the Kennebec Highlands advisory committee tentatively scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 6 at the Mount Vernon Community Center. This meeting is open to the public and there will be an opportunity to voice your concerns. Attendance and participation by the human-powered recreation community is essential.

Advisory Committee and Public Meeting
Thursday, September 6, 6:30 p.m.
Mount Vernon Community Center

Sincerely,

Roy Bouchard
President, BRCA

*PDF documents require the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.