CAMPAIGN for the MAINE WOODS - Appalachian Mountain Club

CAMPAIGN for the MAINE WOODS
Creating a Legacy for Future Generations in the 100-Mile Wilderness Region
What makes AMC’s Maine Woods Initiative
unique is that it integrates land and habitat
protection, outdoor recreation, and
sustainable forestry.
The Appalachian Mountain Club has undertaken the most
ambitious and significant project in our 130-year history—
a bold, new vision to protect and enhance the outdoor
experiences that transform our lives called the Maine Woods
Initiative. To support this historic project, we have launched
a $45 million capital campaign. The Campaign for the
Maine Woods aims to:
• Create and connect a corridor of protected lands and
working forest totaling more than a million acres.
• Achieve permanent land protection and recreational access
for 100,000 acres within Maine’s 100-Mile Wilderness region.
• Create a new four-season destination for outdoor recreation.
• Provide a boost to the local economy through
nature-based tourism and sustainable forestry.
• Provide environmental education opportunities for
residents of local communities and visitors of all ages.
• Create an ecological reserve of more than 25,000 acres.
The founders of AMC left us a tremendous
legacy when their efforts resulted in the
creation of the White Mountain National
Forest in the early part of the 20 th Century.
They made a lasting difference. Today, we
have an opportunity that is similar in
scale and importance: to protect a vast and
mountainous landscape in northern Maine
through the Maine Woods Initiative.
AMC is creating a protected corridor
stretching through the 100-Mile Wilderness
from Greenville to Baxter State Park. AMC
is permanently protecting the 37,000-acre
Katahdin Iron Works tract, which we purchased
in 2003, and has entered into a Conservation
Framework agreement, potentially allowing us
to acquire the 28,000-acre Roach Pond tract
adjacent to our property to the north.
Outdoor enthusiasts will be able to explore
the land via new hiking and skiing trails
and canoe and kayak the numerous
ponds and local rivers, while staying in
a connected system of traditional Maine
sporting camps, cabins, and campsites.
Our programs are lifting the local economy
through forestry jobs and by attracting new
nature-based tourism to the region. And
finally, AMC’s environmental education
programs will help visitors and local residents
learn more about the natural world.
The challenges and work ahead are
tremendous, but so are the opportunities.
Through the Campaign for the Maine
Woods, AMC will be able to transform
this vision into a reality.
Won’t you join us in leaving a conservation and
recreation legacy for future generations?
Let me be your Maine guide. Turn
the page for more information on
the Maine Woods Initiative...
Mac Facts: AMC is building new trails in the Maine Woods project
area. The network of new and existing trails will total 150 miles.