The Appalachian Mountain Club has just announced the purchase of a third set of sporting camps in the 100-mile wilderness region near its 37,000 acre Katahdin Iron Works property.

The Chairback Mountain Camps, situated on magnificent Long Pond, will be open to the public late next year. The purchase preserves these historic camps and expands opportunities for rustic lodging and recreation for the general public amid thousands of acres of deep woods beauty.

AMC bought a second sporting camp operation, the Medawisla Wilderness Camps, just last month. And in late 2003 it purchased the Little Lyford Pond Camps near the spectacular canyon of Gulf Hagas and the Appalachian Trail.

The AMC is doing a lot good things in this region. I wholely support their efforts and commend them on a job well done to date.

I was a skeptic at first, thinking that they might try to close the area off to traditional uses. But that simply has not been the case at all.

In their own words, "The AMCs Maine Woods Initiative seeks to address the ecological and economic needs of the Maine Woods region by supporting local forest products jobs and traditional recreation, creating new multi-day recreational experiences for visitors, and attracting new nature-based tourism to the region."

I visited the AMC operation at Little Lyford a year ago, toured the property with their land manager and scientists, and learned a great deal about their goals.

They're doing it right. And I believe we--hikers and outdoor enthusiasts alike--will benefit, as will the very land itself, by their forward thinking conservation efforts.

Kudos AMC.