Your Scribe has new insights on why there are few auto-moose collisions in winter: The beasts can't get to the road - too much snow as this photo suggests.

We went motoring last weekend in Rangeley, once again doing the Moby Dick thing by searching for a Great White (moose, that is, covered with snow).

But there is still so much snow in the western mountains that a moose couldn't walk near the road if he wanted. The piles along the roadway were higher than six feet. How is the critter going to leave the forest even if so motivated?

(An aside: I also concluded that one reason moose aren't very smart is they are not getting enough intellectual stimulation. If you stand still for two months in deep snow in a grove of speechless conifers, you are not going to get the proper mental grooming for Mammel Mensa).

New thought: There's a compelling story in the current issue of Yankee magazine on "Who Will Control the Northern Maine Wilderness." Actually, I should say the article raised a good question but didn't provide an answer.

To wit, there are three players for the future of the forest (located roughly from Moosehead Lake up past Baxter State Park) since the big lumbering companies are leaving: Plum Creek (Development) Company, Bert's Bees founder Roxanne Quimby and the "Start a national park" crowd.

The story was mostly about Quimby, and it is a fascinating one. How many back-to-the-earth Mainers emerge as multi-millionaires intent on buying up land to keep it as wilderness.

Your Scribe's take: It is unclear who will "control" the forest. But things (meaning vast land purchases) are happening fast. If lovers of the outdoors want any "wilderness" in their future, they had better get active in conservation efforts!

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