Public meetings on use of Plum Creek donated land Feb. 11

Staff Report

    GREENVILLE — The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Bureau of Parks and Lands is seeking comments on management of public lands in the Moosehead Region and priorities for use of 50 acres of donated lands for boating, camping and hiking in the region.

    The public scoping meeting will be held Wednesday, Feb. 11 from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Greenville town office
    The donated lands will fulfill a requirement for Plum Creek’s Moosehead Region Concept Plan.
    This plan will guide the bureau’s management of public lands in this region which includes Little Moose, Days Academy and Sugar Island Public Reserved Lands, as well as undeveloped state park lands at Farm Island and Kineo.
    It also includes bureau lands on the shoreline and to the east and west of Moosehead Lake. All of these lands are managed for multiple uses including recreation, wildlife habitat, scenic and natural areas, and timber production.
    Following the scoping meeting, a second session will be held from 7-8 p.m. on the same date and at the same location to hear feedback on priorities for acquiring up to 50 acres of donated lands in the surrounding region.
    As part of the Land Use Planning Commission-approved Moosehead Lake Region Concept Plan, the Bureau of Parks and Lands is generating a list of priority sites to acquire from Plum Creek for boating access, campsites, and trailheads. Public input is sought as this planning develops.
    At the Feb. 11 meeting, DACF will be asking the audience: What is working well on these public lands? What concerns and issues should be addressed in the plan? What vision should guide management of these lands over the next 15 years?
    Once a final draft of the Moosehead Plan is written, a public meeting will be held to receive comments, sometime in the early summer.
    Following the public meeting discussing priorities for boating access, campsites, and trailheads, bureau staff will work to develop a prioritized list of properties for acquisition by May 2015.
    The 13,951 acre Little Moose Reserved Lands Unit is just west of Greenville and contains a large portion of the Big Moose Mountain Range as well as several ponds, brooks and streams.
    The 7,460 acre Days Academy Reserved Lands Unit is on the east side of Moosehead Lake and features Little Kineo Mountain, with its short scenic hiking trail.
    Farm Island and Sugar Island provide several primitive water-access campsites, as does the shoreline at Days Academy and a 500-foot strip of shoreline along more than 20 miles of the east shoreline of Moosehead surrounding Cowan Cove and Spencer Bay. Bureau lands at the West and East Outlet of the lake provide fishing and paddling opportunities extending downstream to Indian Pond.
    The Plan also included three smaller public lots several miles to the east of Moosehead, in the Barren-Chairback Range, and a few small public lots to the west of Moosehead near Brassua Lake and the Moose River. The properties in the plan region serve important roles for hunting and fishing opportunities as well as motorized trail networks.
    For more information, visit www.maine.gov/dacf/moosehead_region.
    For more details about this meeting or to be added to the mailing list for the plan, contact Jim Vogel at Jim.Vogel@maine.gov.