Katahdin Lake website
Trail Head reader Ken has launched a new website on the Katahdin Lake land deal that's worth visiting.
The Katahdin Lake proposal is yet another hot and unfortunately divisive issue that bears much serious consideration and conversation.
Take a look see and add your comments.
By the way, I understand there's a compromise proposal on the table to make the area in and around Katahdin Lake part of Baxter State Park, while the northern section would remain open to traditional uses under state ownership.
That could work.
Hunting, trapping, fishing and hiking are all traditional uses. So is logging, but just because something is a traditional use doesn't mean it should be allowed in an addition to Baxter.
Snowmobiles and ATV's are hardly traditional but they do disturb those seeking quietude and solitude. They should not be allowed. Hunting wouldn't be the end of the world, but it very clearly was not in thye generous Governor's vision. He succumbed to pressure tactics which is the only reason any hunting was allowed in BSP.
There is really a tremendous amount of venom from some of the locals in Millinocket. This was a booming town but globalization is choking the life out of the forest products industry in New England and it's only going to get worse. So it is very understandable why there is so much enmity in Millinocket.
Whether Katahdin Lake is kept open for hunting or not will in no way compensate for Millinocket's lost jobs. But it's a way to lash out at the outside world that for the most part is doing better than Millinocket.
However, in the end, this will accomplish nothing.
Take a good look at some of Millinocket's politicians. These folks are all about stirring up bitterness. They are very good at such manipulations, but are they doing the people of Millinocket a favor? I personally don't think so.
As an outsider, I can say that Millinocket will get more flies with honey than vinegar. Like it or not, Millinocket increasingly depends on tourism.
Ecotourists are a growing lot and hunters are a dwindling lot. The more that Millinocket can be friendly to its tourists, the better off Millinocket will be. Rule # 1 is the customer is always right. Ruke # 2 is that if the customer is wrong, you reread Rule # 1. Or better still, think the golden rule. Don't you like people who smile more than people who scowl? Believe me, the contempt is transparent and those who can't warm up are not helping themselves.
Go visit Fort Kent. You'll find the friendliest people in the nation there.
You know what? It's enough to make a tourist want to return to Ft. Kent.
Millinocket is pronouncedly less warm.
How about making Millinocket THE adjective that people from away will want to put before the word "Hospitality"?
That said, all those thousands of folks who come through Millinocket to visit Baxter are a gigantic untapped resource. If everyone stops fighting and stirring up bitterness, you'll harvest more of their dollars with each passing year.
These folks don't want a Baxter Park with ATV trails. THese folks for the most part love Baxter because it's a protected awe inspiring sanctuary - for themselves as well as the wildlife they come to see.
A moose, bear or buck at Katahdin Lake is worth more to Millinocket as a photograph than over someone's mantle.
The real future for the entire north woods will be better if everyone gets along. Personally, I'd like to see a National Forest that allows logging, hunting, trapping and snowmobiling but puts major limits on development.
It's one thing when all those NYers and NJers come through Millinocket in their big fancy SUVs and simply visit the area. But it will be quite another when the north woods are developed and their McMansions will be built everywhere and the land will be posted. This will happen for the same reason the mills are dying - the paper companies are leaving the area and to please their shareholders, they'll be going into the real estate business.
Hunters and hikers will both lose when this happens. So think about finding some common ground and stand together. Next time someone is stirring up hatred, call them on it. Ask them what they are accomplihing other than cutting off the nose to spite the face.
George Smith is paid to fight for hunting as this is what he's measured on.
But he could show a lot more foreward thinking by actually cutting a deal with the environmental groups called I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine. George, show them you are the bigger person and back down on Katahdin Lake, but secure something in exchange. In the end the honey will work better than vinegar.
Like it or not, hunters and hikers - you need each other now more than ever.
Posted by Penob Scot
March 18, 2006 03:28 PM
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