Non-profit manages forest land for public, private use
HOULTON — Al Cowperthwaite was the guest speaker at the Houlton Rotary Club’s Aug. 15 meeting. Cowperthwaite, who was the guest of Rotarian Rob Faulkner, works in Ashland for North Maine Woods Incorporated and commutes 60 miles each way every day of his work week. He has held the job for 32 years.
The North Maine Woods Inc. is a non-profit company that manages land for both public and private entities. They manage for companies such as Wagner Forest Management, the Nature Conservancy and other investment groups.
Managing over five million acres as a cooperative gives the individual landowners more political power. Private and public forestland has been opened for public use because of the work of North Maine Woods (also referred to as NMW). They help to manage public use (over 70,000 users per year) and coordinate this with the harvesting of timber products. Opportunities are provided for high quality traditional recreation like camping and fishing.
NMW controls these recreational areas to make sure that visitors respect the land. Letting the public use the land allows the area to be self sustaining though NMW accommodates but does not promote the public use.
NMW has been in business for 45 years, since 1971. The area they manage was used as a commercial venture that began with lumbering. The wood was being harvested and they needed water to move the product to market. Dams were installed to reach the markets necessary for profitability. Boundary line maintenance workers came to make sure the border into Canada was kept clear. Forestry experts came to help prevent forest fires and also to help ensure that insect and disease problems would not spread. Water became unreliable to move wood so the logging companies built roads, such as the “Golden Road”, which brought more people to the area. From this came the need for NMW Inc.
Management of the people using the area for recreation became critical. In 1976 NMW was used primarily by the lumber companies. Today the land is owned in the following percentages; 39 percent by private families, 33 percent by corporations, 17 percent by institutional investors (retirement funds etc.), 5 percent by the Nature Conservancy and 6 percent by the State of Maine.
NMW has four full-time workers and forty-four seasonal workers who manage the gates, clean and maintain campsites, welcome the visitors, and provide security. It has become imperative to know where all visitors are located. NMW maintains liability protection with a $5 million policy. Without this insurance, the landowners might not be so welcoming to visitors using their property. The NMW works closely with the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
On the woods roads there are manned checkpoints, cameras along the road side and seven automated gates. If a vehicle needs to go through these gates the vehicle driver can go into a building, call the main office, state their business and pay the fee. The office opens the gate from a central location. There are 350 campsites, 60 table shelters, and 200 outhouses.
There has never been a forest fires started by a campfire on these lands. There has never been a problem with trash thanks to security checkpoints. Day use fees help maintain the checkpoints and the camping fees maintain the campsites. Bait site management fees help with the 2,470 bear bait stands. Service contracts with landowners pay for overall management of the area and the retail income for hats, T-shirts, and decals helps to reduce fees.
Because of the size of the property if all 700,000 annual visitors descended on the NMW at the same time there would be more than five acres per person to enjoy.
