from The Franklin Journal    October 2, 2001                       

Seeking to protect fragile beauty       

$1.7 million is needed to fully protect Mt.Blue/Tumbledown                                               

by Greg Davis

      WELD--Fog shrouded some of the mountain peaks last Friday, but Center Hill at Mt. Blue State Park in Weld was still the perfect focal point for a meeting of the individuals and organizations interested in preserving the Mt. Blue/Tumbledown region for posterity.    

Congressman John Baldacci, who with the entire Maine Congressional Delegation has pushed hard for preserving the untamed lands as public property, was the guest of honor.

    The meeting started with a stop at the Blue Folk Place, also known as the CyberCafe, hosted by Abe Kreworuka, with widespread local and area coalition representatives who viewed a children's art show displayed at the site, on the theme of "What Makes Our Mountains Special."

    Baldacci said he is pleased to see so many children involved in the effort. "This is what makes things successful. We know it is important and it is inspirational. These are important things to work on, and we need to have these kinds of places to go to, to recharge our batteries," he stressed.

    Jennifer Melville, of the Trust for Public Lands, said the coalition of interested individuals and organizations is seeking land purchases and conservation easements to protect the largely unfragmented landscape around Mt. Blue and the Tumbledown Mountain range.

    The federal government has kicked in $1.7 million to protect the region to date, but there are real concerns that future government funding will be hard to come by, given the apparent terrorism-enhanced recession in which the country has fallen, with many voices competing for limited funds.

    "The fundraising campaign is critical," Melville said. "I am from Freeport, but have had many people from all over tell me how much Tumbledown has inspired them, and that it is the first place they took their children hiking," she said.

    Baldacci then travelled with most of the group to Center Hill for a climb up the scenic trail after meeting with Weld schoolchildren who presented him with A Pictorial History of Weld and thanked him for working to protect this important part of their heritage.     Baldacci presented his Congressional lapel pin to the school, asking teachers to later select a particularly deserving student to receive it.   "It is important to go back to as regular a schedule as you can," he said of his visit to Franklin County. He is on the Aviation Committee, which will be taking up the Airline Security Bill this week, but said, "It's now very, very safe to fly. I am doing it all the time from Washington, D.C. We need to get back into the saddle again."

    Bob Kimber, of the Tumbledown Conservation Alliance, thanked Baldacci and the Maine Congressional Delegation for its unswerving support since the effort to protect this resource was first kicked off in 1999.

    After the Center Hill hike, Mt. Blue State Park Director Bruce Farnham and his wife Dianna hosted a luncheon, with foods provided by many of the Alliance members.

    The recent marketing of 90,000 acres of United Timber property served as a "wake up call" for many who have become involved in the resulting coalition, members said, including the Webb Lake Association, Friends of Maine State Parks, Apppalachian Mountain Club, Western Maine Audubon, Foothills Lands Conservancy, University of Maine at Farmington students, the Trust for Public Land, Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, and many local and seasonal residents.

     The project has also drawn interest from beyond the borders of Maine, it was noted.      Maine hikers visit Mt. Blue State Park and the Tumbledown regions because of its rugged peaks, well-maintained scenic trails, unique wetland types and alpine ponds. It is home to moose, the American bald eagle, peregrine falcons, Bicknell's thrush and many other woodland animals.

    The Alliance hopes to protect approximately 30,000 acres in what is an area otherwise very vulnerable to development. To succeed, the Alliance needs to raise $1.8 million in private contributions by December, 2001.

    At stake is pristine scenery that surrounds Webb Lake and includes the Tumbledown range--the peaks of Tumbledown, Jackson, Little Jackson and Blueberry Mountains to the north of the lake.

      Mt. Blue State Park includes the peaks of Mt. Blue as well as a camping area on Webb Lake. The summit of Bald Mountain, located south of the lake, offers expansive northerly views across Webb Lake to the Tumbledown range and beyond. The state park itself attracts 60,000 visitors a year and the entire area was ranked among the top ten family spots by Outside Magazine in 1999.      

   In addition to its natural and recreational values, much of the land in this region has been an important source of timber for the local forest products industry. Land ownership and use changes that range from timber liquidation to subdivision and development now threaten the balance between working forest, wildlife habitat and recreation that has characterized the Mt. Blue/Tumbledown region for many generations.

    It is the stated goal confirming the recognition of the importance of maintaining the traditional uses of this forest that has drawn the support of forest industry representatives, who aren't always supportive of efforts to place more land into public ownership and/or stewardship.

    The coalition wants to maintain access for traditional recreational uses such as hunting, hiking, skiing, fishing and snowmobiling; continue timber harvesting to preserve local jobs; and protect wildlife habitat and the Webb Lake watershed.  

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