July 19, 2004
Trail mix | Larry Warren battles obstacles to the creation of his hut-and-trail system in western Maine
By Rebecca Zicarelli
It's been a long, hard slog for Larry Warren, president of the nonprofit Western Mountains Foundation, the group trying to build a 180-mile recreation trail and 12 back-country lodges, or huts, in western Maine. Called Maine Huts and Trails, the $8 million project gained attention last year for its potential to help expand the western Maine economy by developing the region as an eco-tourism destination. Warren and his supporters envision the trail ˆ stretching from the Mahoosuc Mountains in Newry, just north of Bethel, to Rockwood, on the western edge of Moosehead Lake ˆ being used for hiking, biking, snowshoeing, skiing and, on some sections, for paddling.
But that vision also generated concern, largely from the Friends of Bigelow, an advocacy group that objects to Warren's plan to groom the ski trail on the eight- to 12-mile section of trail that would pass through the Bigelow Preserve, just south of Flagstaff Lake. The friends also objected to the location of one hut on the shore of Flagstaff Lake. (See "Mr. Warren's proposal," Mainebiz, Dec. 9, 2002.)
For the last year, Warren has been working to overcome those concerns by pursuing an alternate route around the preserve, relocating the hut site and working with the state Department of Conservation on other land acquisition negotiations. He's also made a major shift in strategy in hopes of garnering additional funding for the project. Originally, the first phase of the four-phase project was to develop three huts and a 24-mile section of the trail in the Carrabassett region. Instead, within the next six months, Warren intends to acquire the 100-mile long corridor stretching from Carrabassett to Moosehead Lake. "We felt it was important to show potential donors we had access to the land the trail would go over," he says. (The other three phases, which Warren envisions taking seven years to complete, gradually will expand the trail and hut system in both directions.)
Though that strategy raised the cost of phase one significantly ˆ initially projected at $2 million, it's now anticipated to cost $4 million ˆ it seems to have borne fruit: Warren says he's made substantial progress negotiating the necessary land acquisitions. He's also gained an ally in L.L. Bean, which has pledged both expertise and a hefty donation. However, the Bigelow Preserve still presents an obstacle as large as Bigelow Mountain for Larry Warren and Maine Huts and Trails.
The Bigelow battle
The Bigelow Act, adopted by voters in 1976, allows for timber harvesting and snowmobiling on the preserve, but bans all other mechanized traffic ˆ including the groomers that would make Warren's trail attractive to skiers. Early on in the trail planning process, Warren submitted to the state Legislature an amendment that would allow grooming, but he withdrew it in May of 2003 after signing a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Conservation and the Friends of Bigelow. Warren agreed to spend six months negotiating a route around the preserve on land owned by the Penobscot Nation. The Department of Conservation agreed to assist in land acquisition negotiations for the entire trail, and the Friends of Bigelow agreed to stop actively opposing the trail system and to allow a six-foot-wide groomed trail through the Bigelow Preserve if negotiations with the Penobscots failed.
After more than a year of talks with the Penobscot Nation, though, there still is no consensus in the tribe that a trail will ever be allowed on tribal land. "A project of this magnitude will cut a swath across our property. It needs to be considered in light of our overall land-use planning," says John Banks, who manages natural resources for the Penobscots. "The tribe has gotten into trouble making quick decisions in the past. We're not going to do that."
In addition, Warren says there are eight corporate landowners ˆ including International Paper, Central Maine Power and Florida Light & Power ˆ with whom to negotiate agreements between the Bigelow Preserve and Moosehead Lake. Some prefer to sell the corridor to Western Mountains Foundation, some to the state; others prefer long-term easements and leases. Still, says Warren, "Conceptually, there is cooperation through the whole trail corridor from Carrabassett Valley north to Moosehead Lake."
But for the trail to become a reality, Warren has to get through or go around the Bigelow Preserve. And after a year negotiating with the Penobscots, Warren says, "It's time to go back to the Bureau of Parks and Land, in accordance with our signed agreement, and revisit going through the Bigelow Preserve."
Ralph Knoll, deputy director of the BPL, has been tapped by the Baldacci administration to assist with the project. He's talked with the Friends of Bigelow about a trail that would be hand-built and not groomed. "The Friends aren't totally with us; given their druthers, they wouldn't want to see any trail at all," he says.
"Our concern is that [Western Mountains Foundation] wants to use the preserve in ways that will primarily benefit facilities built on either side of the preserve, and that it will only be a trail that benefits Carrabassett Valley," says Ken Spaulding, a member of the Friends of Bigelow. He adds that the group is worried the hut system will increase the burden on the Appalachian Trail as it crosses the Bigelow Range, and suggests that there are better routes on the north side of Flagstaff Lake.
Though Warren chafes at the suggestion of more delays, both Spaulding and Knoll say going through the public planning process to update the Bigelow Preserve Management Plan ˆ already a decade overdue ˆ may be the best way to solve the conundrum. Knoll says if the process is initiated now, it could be complete within six to nine months, a year at the outside.
In the meantime, Warren is working on fundraising. He's secured a pledge of $250,000 from L.L. Bean, and a matching pledge from a well-known philanthropist who prefers to remain anonymous at this time. "This is an opportunity to support an environmentally sensitive project that will create jobs and bring in tourist dollars," explains Bob Peixotta, Bean's chief operating officer and a board member of Western Mountains Foundation. "Most people in other parts of the country [traveling to Maine] think the coast and lobster; this is an opportunity to help recognize the beautiful mountains, lakes, and streams that are unique to the interior of Maine."
Those pledges, however, are contingent upon Warren raising an additional $1.5 million for phase one. To do so, the Western Mountains Foundation board contracted with New York-based Community Consulting Service, fundraising consultants who have helped other environmental groups, including The Forest Society, the Nature Conservancy and the Appalachian Mountain Club, raise millions. CCS pointed out the need for the organization to acquire a significant portion of the trial corridor as soon as possible; it also will help Warren drum up other corporate sponsors to support the project both financially and logistically.
For Warren, the larger goal remains the full 180 miles of trail, and all the benefits he believes it will bring to western Maine. Later this month, he'll be meeting with the managers of the Milford Track, a similar system in New Zealand that's regarded as a national treasure and international destination. And Warren says he continues to talk with other groups in the state such as the Maine Winter Sports Center, with an eye toward connecting Black Mountain in Rumford to the system. "We want to coordinate with everybody that has something to offer," Warren says, "because the sum of the parts can be 10 times bigger in total."
But that vision also generated concern, largely from the Friends of Bigelow, an advocacy group that objects to Warren's plan to groom the ski trail on the eight- to 12-mile section of trail that would pass through the Bigelow Preserve, just south of Flagstaff Lake. The friends also objected to the location of one hut on the shore of Flagstaff Lake. (See "Mr. Warren's proposal," Mainebiz, Dec. 9, 2002.)
For the last year, Warren has been working to overcome those concerns by pursuing an alternate route around the preserve, relocating the hut site and working with the state Department of Conservation on other land acquisition negotiations. He's also made a major shift in strategy in hopes of garnering additional funding for the project. Originally, the first phase of the four-phase project was to develop three huts and a 24-mile section of the trail in the Carrabassett region. Instead, within the next six months, Warren intends to acquire the 100-mile long corridor stretching from Carrabassett to Moosehead Lake. "We felt it was important to show potential donors we had access to the land the trail would go over," he says. (The other three phases, which Warren envisions taking seven years to complete, gradually will expand the trail and hut system in both directions.)
Though that strategy raised the cost of phase one significantly ˆ initially projected at $2 million, it's now anticipated to cost $4 million ˆ it seems to have borne fruit: Warren says he's made substantial progress negotiating the necessary land acquisitions. He's also gained an ally in L.L. Bean, which has pledged both expertise and a hefty donation. However, the Bigelow Preserve still presents an obstacle as large as Bigelow Mountain for Larry Warren and Maine Huts and Trails.
The Bigelow battle
The Bigelow Act, adopted by voters in 1976, allows for timber harvesting and snowmobiling on the preserve, but bans all other mechanized traffic ˆ including the groomers that would make Warren's trail attractive to skiers. Early on in the trail planning process, Warren submitted to the state Legislature an amendment that would allow grooming, but he withdrew it in May of 2003 after signing a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Conservation and the Friends of Bigelow. Warren agreed to spend six months negotiating a route around the preserve on land owned by the Penobscot Nation. The Department of Conservation agreed to assist in land acquisition negotiations for the entire trail, and the Friends of Bigelow agreed to stop actively opposing the trail system and to allow a six-foot-wide groomed trail through the Bigelow Preserve if negotiations with the Penobscots failed.
After more than a year of talks with the Penobscot Nation, though, there still is no consensus in the tribe that a trail will ever be allowed on tribal land. "A project of this magnitude will cut a swath across our property. It needs to be considered in light of our overall land-use planning," says John Banks, who manages natural resources for the Penobscots. "The tribe has gotten into trouble making quick decisions in the past. We're not going to do that."
In addition, Warren says there are eight corporate landowners ˆ including International Paper, Central Maine Power and Florida Light & Power ˆ with whom to negotiate agreements between the Bigelow Preserve and Moosehead Lake. Some prefer to sell the corridor to Western Mountains Foundation, some to the state; others prefer long-term easements and leases. Still, says Warren, "Conceptually, there is cooperation through the whole trail corridor from Carrabassett Valley north to Moosehead Lake."
But for the trail to become a reality, Warren has to get through or go around the Bigelow Preserve. And after a year negotiating with the Penobscots, Warren says, "It's time to go back to the Bureau of Parks and Land, in accordance with our signed agreement, and revisit going through the Bigelow Preserve."
Ralph Knoll, deputy director of the BPL, has been tapped by the Baldacci administration to assist with the project. He's talked with the Friends of Bigelow about a trail that would be hand-built and not groomed. "The Friends aren't totally with us; given their druthers, they wouldn't want to see any trail at all," he says.
"Our concern is that [Western Mountains Foundation] wants to use the preserve in ways that will primarily benefit facilities built on either side of the preserve, and that it will only be a trail that benefits Carrabassett Valley," says Ken Spaulding, a member of the Friends of Bigelow. He adds that the group is worried the hut system will increase the burden on the Appalachian Trail as it crosses the Bigelow Range, and suggests that there are better routes on the north side of Flagstaff Lake.
Though Warren chafes at the suggestion of more delays, both Spaulding and Knoll say going through the public planning process to update the Bigelow Preserve Management Plan ˆ already a decade overdue ˆ may be the best way to solve the conundrum. Knoll says if the process is initiated now, it could be complete within six to nine months, a year at the outside.
In the meantime, Warren is working on fundraising. He's secured a pledge of $250,000 from L.L. Bean, and a matching pledge from a well-known philanthropist who prefers to remain anonymous at this time. "This is an opportunity to support an environmentally sensitive project that will create jobs and bring in tourist dollars," explains Bob Peixotta, Bean's chief operating officer and a board member of Western Mountains Foundation. "Most people in other parts of the country [traveling to Maine] think the coast and lobster; this is an opportunity to help recognize the beautiful mountains, lakes, and streams that are unique to the interior of Maine."
Those pledges, however, are contingent upon Warren raising an additional $1.5 million for phase one. To do so, the Western Mountains Foundation board contracted with New York-based Community Consulting Service, fundraising consultants who have helped other environmental groups, including The Forest Society, the Nature Conservancy and the Appalachian Mountain Club, raise millions. CCS pointed out the need for the organization to acquire a significant portion of the trial corridor as soon as possible; it also will help Warren drum up other corporate sponsors to support the project both financially and logistically.
For Warren, the larger goal remains the full 180 miles of trail, and all the benefits he believes it will bring to western Maine. Later this month, he'll be meeting with the managers of the Milford Track, a similar system in New Zealand that's regarded as a national treasure and international destination. And Warren says he continues to talk with other groups in the state such as the Maine Winter Sports Center, with an eye toward connecting Black Mountain in Rumford to the system. "We want to coordinate with everybody that has something to offer," Warren says, "because the sum of the parts can be 10 times bigger in total."
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