Date: June 30, 2005

Contact: Karen Woodsum  207-761-5616 (Portland)

                   Darci Schofield     207-695-3596 (Greenville)

AMERICA’S GREAT OUTDOORS Highlights Efforts to Protect Maine’s 100-Mile Wilderness

 Sierra Club Report Profiles Special Places Nationwide

Portland, Maine – As summer vacation kicks into full gear with the July Fourth holiday, Maine’s 100-Mile Wilderness is receiving national attention with the release of America’s Great Outdoors, Sierra Club’s new report outlining a vision for protecting our natural heritage. The places profiled in the report were chosen by citizen conservationists in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico for the unparalleled recreational opportunities, clean water and wildlife habitat they provide.

The full report, list of places and a photo slideshow are available at http://www.sierraclub.org/greatoutdoors.

“Protecting America's natural heritage means that we have to protect places big and small,” said Karen Woodsum of the Maine Sierra Club. “America’s Great Outdoors includes northern Maine’s 100-Mile Wilderness region and local treasures of other states as well as national gems like the Arctic Refuge and Giant Sequoias. All of them are beautiful, all of them are threatened, and all of them can be saved.”

“All across America, communities are uniting to protect special places where they camp, hunt, hike, fish and find solace and solitude,” said Woodsum.  “America’s Great Outdoors outlines ways we can work together to make our communities beautiful and healthy places to live and highlights those natural treasures that can still be saved if we can summon the foresight to act now.”

Governor John Baldacci supports protection of the 100-Mile Wilderness, citing it as a good example of his vision for a Maine Woods Legacy.  “My Administration has worked closely with the Sierra Club to bring together local residents, businesses and conservation groups to create a plan that will enhance land protection, recreational access and local nature-based economic development in the 100-Mile Wilderness,” said Baldacci.

The 100-Mile Wilderness is the legendary northern section of the Appalachian Trail that runs from Monson to Baxter State Park.  The trail has only a narrow protected corridor averaging 500 to 1000 feet most of which is managed by the National Park Service.  The region surrounding this section of the trail is by no means a protected wilderness however and efforts are underway to secure broader protection.

“The unparalleled beauty and wealth of recreational opportunities of the 100 Mile Wilderness made it a prime candidate for Sierra Club’s natural heritage list,” said Darci Schofield who lives in Greenville, which is considered a gateway community to this special north woods region.  “Many local residents value this spectacular resource in our backyard, but we are becoming increasingly concerned about the threat of extensive development in the region.”

Nationwide, communities are coming together to promote solutions that save these extraordinary places, including:

• Preserving our natural heritage by designating lands as permanently protected parks, refuges, forests, and wilderness;

• Restoring forests, riverfronts, wetlands, and community open spaces through the rebuilding and recovery of healthy, natural ecosystems;

• Improving lands to protect wildlife species and their native habitat; 

• Acquiring additional acreage by purchasing threatened land to protect it for future generations;
• Encouraging thoughtful design and planning of development projects to protect open space, reduce traffic, and save tax dollars.

“This July 4th Sierra Club members and others are continuing the legacy of democratic participation by working for positive solutions that ensure the protection and restoration of our natural heritage for future generations,” said Woodsum.

Here are some materials you may be interested in for further information:

à (PDF) Map of the 100 Mile region

à (PDF) Feature page of Maine’s 100 Mile Wilderness

à (PDF) A 21 page version of the Sierra Club “America’s Great Outdoors” report

à (JPEG) Photo of the 100 Mile region looking north, taken by Arlene Leroy