North Maine Woods- What is it?  #5

In my first four blogs, I refer from time to time to a place called, the North Maine Woods. It occurred to me that some of my readers might not know what or who that is. So, this blog is dedicated to trying to create an image of what I mean when I say there is no other place in Maine like the North Maine Woods.

The North Maine Woods, or NMW for short, is a region in northern Maine of over 3.5 million acres of commercial forest land. It is located in the north western part of Maine. The ownership, which is confusing to say the least, is made up of individual as well as corporate landholders, both big and small. Many own what is called a township or roughly 36 square mile plots. Some own more than one township and other townships have multiple owners. It is not just a wilderness or forest. There are over 3,000 miles of maintained roads and several thousand other unmaintained roads within its boundary. The access and public use management is maintained by the NMW, Inc. They have their headquarters in Ashland, ME. Many people earn their living each day in the North Maine Woods.

The NMW is not a park, and there are no hookups for your campers at the 112 campsites, 86 of which are in the Ashland Region and 26 in the Allagash Region. To get to any of the campsites, you must first pass through one of the 15 checkpoints and pay a fee. Now, the fees are very cheap for day use of this wonderful region. A day use pass will cost you $6.00 per person and an annual pass that allows you to enter the region any time during the year is $75.00. There are also fees to camp in the NMW; again the fees are very minimal. When you pay your fee, the gate attendant will ask you where you are going. Make sure that you answer them accurately. This question has helped The Maine Warden Service and the folks from the NMW find people in the event there was an emergency at home, or if you simply did not return on time.

Once you are passed the checkpoint, a whole new experience awaits you. The region has a number of lakes, ponds and streams that are well stocked with fish. It also has a number of different species of wildlife. You are almost always assured of seeing moose, roughed grouse, deer and possibly even a bear. I recall two years ago when my wife and I were on our way to Peaked Mountain Pond for one of our fishing excursions seeing a mother black bear walk out into the road and just stand there.  I knew there was a reason she did not quickly walk across the road, so we watched as four bear cubs walked out of the woods toward her, one at a time. Only when they were all in the road, did she walk to the other side of the road and disappear into the woods. All four of the cubs were following closely behind her.

There are some rules they ask you to abide by while in the NMW. They include:

·         Every visitor must log in and log out of one of their checkpoints.

·         Maintain a safe speed limit on their roads and make sure to pull over and give room to the numerous logging trucks.

·         Be careful with fires and only use fire pits with steel rings to build fires.

·         NMW is a carry in carry out area. That means what you bring in, please bring out with you.

·         Carefully dispose of cigarettes and cigars.

Making sure that you follow these very simple rules will ensure that we will all be able to continue to take advantage of what the NMW has to offer.

Finally, The NMW has a great website that will give you more information on just about any question you might have. If you don’t find what you are looking for, just contact their Executive Director, Al Cowperthwaite via the website.  Also, Al writes a column in the North Woods Sporting Journal each month which gives their readers an update about what is going on there. I find it very informative. If you don’t already get this monthly magazine, you should really check it out. It is a must for all sportsmen. The link to the magazine’s webpage is found below.

www.northmainewoods.org     

www.sportingjournal.com          

Come and take advantage of what the NMW has to offer. Once you enter for the first time, you will be back again and again.

If you would like to be added to my email list that notifies you when I have written a new blog, or if you would just like to drop me an email, you can reach me at 42adjuster@gmail.com