Here is a photo from 2017 of Mount Katahdin in the background as two snowmobilers pass. It was a crystal clear day and very cold. Perfect for taking this great shot! Thanks to Rick LeVasseur from 5 Lakes Lodge for the great photo and Maine-Snowmobiling.com for showing it to the world! Oh, and thanks for letting us share it, too!
PORTLAND, Maine — Road signs directing motorists to the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument are going to be installed — eventually — now that Republican Gov. Paul LePage has relented in his opposition to the signs on Interstate 95 and state roads leading to the Mount Katahdin region.
The Maine Department of Transportation will allow signs to be manufactured and installed now that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has recommended keeping the monument and a renewed request has been submitted by the superintendent for the federal land, the governor’s office said.
“This is fantastic news. This is what I’ve been waiting to hear,” Lucas St. Clair, whose family donated the land, said Tuesday.
It’s unclear when the signs would be installed, however.
The Maine DOT is still sorting out placement, size and costs, and there’s no timetable for erecting the signs, Ted Talbot, Maine DOT spokesman, said Tuesday.
The request made by Katahdin Woods and Waters Superintendent Tim Hudson, first reported by Maine Public, seeks six signs on Interstate 95 and 11 additional signs on major state roads.
The largest of the signs is roughly 8-by-22 feet and typically cost between $10,000 and $15,000, he said Tuesday.
The wooded wilderness includes a 17-mile loop road with stunning views of Mount Katahdin, Maine’s tallest mountain, along with trails for hiking, mountain biking and snowmobiling, and paddling on the Penobscot River’s East Branch.
But motorists would be hard-pressed to find it without a map. There are no official signs, and a homemade sign was removed by state officials.
St. Clair said he’s heard from many people who’ve inquired about which exit to take on I-95 or reported that they got lost.
Last year, the LePage administration balked at the signs pending completion of a review by the Trump administration. But Zinke has since visited the land, described it as “beautiful country” and recommended no changes to the 87,500-acre (137-square-mile) property.
Supporters of the federal land managed by the National Park Service said the lack of signs hurt the ability to draw visitors to the economically troubled Katahdin region.
Katahdin Woods and Waters was visited by at least 15,000 people in its first year, and the number doubles when snowmobiles are added to the mix.
*photo – FILE – In this Aug. 6, 2017, file photo, motorists travel on Rte. 11 south of Patten, Maine, near the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. Road signs directing motorists to the national monument are going to be installed now that Republican Gov. Paul LePage has relented in his opposition to the signs on Interstate 95 and state roads leading to the Mount Katahdin region. The Maine Department of Transportation will allow signs to be manufactured and installed now that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has recommended keeping the monument and a renewed request has been submitted by the superintendent for the federal land, the governor’s office said. Robert F. Bukaty / AP
MILLINOCKET, Maine — The New Hampshire investment firm that could create a new market for the state’s forest products industries intends to proceed with its plans to build a $140 million pellet mill despite a recent $9 million reduction in a state bond, officials said Wednesday.
excerpt from bangor daily news…
~ By Nick Sambides Jr., BDN Staff ~
Thermogen Industries leaders are “disappointed” with a Finance Authority of Maine decision last week to reduce a $25 million bond to $16 million, but are working to close that gap with its investors, said Dammon Frecker, Thermogen’s project manager.
“While this setback is certainly unfortunate, our team’s passion and determination [are] inspiring and I have full confidence that we will prevail,” Frecker said in a statement released Wednesday. “We are working around the clock to restructure our financing plan and finalize a new path forward.”
“We are committed to developing this project and putting people back to work,” he added.
Cate Street Capital is a Portsmouth investment firm bankrolling Thermogen and Great Northern Paper Co. LLC, which owns a temporarily closed paper mill in East Millinocket and an industrial park in Millinocket where the pellet mill will be sited.
Great Northern Paper Company is a Maine-based pulp and paper manufacturer that at its peak in the 1970s and 1980s operated mills in Georgia, Maine, and Wisconsin and produced 16.4 percent of the newsprint made in the United States.
The company was acquired by Georgia-Pacific Corporation in 1990. Its name was revived in 2011 when private equity firm Cates Capital acquired Great Northern’s original Maine mills. Cate Capital now plans to replace the Millinocket mill with this pellet plant.
A new report from the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry reveals that there are 145 different species of spiders on and around Mount Katahdin, including five that have been previously unidentified.
The Maine Forest Service report is based on the scientific collection and identification work done by scientists Daniel T. Jennings, Charles D. Dondale and James H. Redner from Maine and Canada and provides scientific knowledge that could provide baseline information on habitat and recreational-use effects in the park, according to Charlene Donahue, MFS forest entomologist.
None of the 145 different species of spiders found were poisonous, as Maine has no native poisonous spiders, the MFS forest entomologist said. The five previous unidentified species are unique to the North American alpine environment found on Katahdin and some of them have also been found on Mt. Washington and in Quebec.
Some Katahdin specimens are available in the MFS insect collection, while others are being kept at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Mass.
As part of its mission, the state’s Forest Service frequently publishes technical reports on a variety of scientific subjects, from invasive insects to silviculture, as a way to support Maine landowners, forest managers and businesspeople.
A checklist of documented spiders is available at www.maine.gov/doc/mfs/idmhome.htm. For more information about the Maine Forest Service, go to www.maineforestservice.gov.
Hi. Welcome to our new site. We have compiled a large amount of information for those wishing to visit our region. We also feature stories, photos and videos from the Millinocket, Medway, Sherman and Patten, Maine area. An area otherwise known as the “Katahdin Region.” Start at our Homepage and go from there!
