My name is Gabriel Ivory, I was born in Lafayette, Louisiana but my father is from Plymouth, Maine. My family currently lives in Dubai, UAE. We have a summer house in Saint Albans. We have been spending our summers in Maine as long as I can remember. Maine is a huge part of my life, and I call it my home.

 

Nature has been a huge part of Maine’s reputation for quite some time. It is sad to see our beloved Aroostook County being taken over for the logging business. While it enhances Maine’s economy, Maine is covered with 90% of forestland. Taking down these trees for building projects and other activities has led to a decrease in forestland in Maine, and may even be a waste of time...

 

First of all, northern Maine is already known for its large amounts of forestland, and Maine’s largest income is tourism. Also, Baxter State Park is already taking advantage of the beauty of northern Maine wilderness.

 

 

The objective is to create another large state park in Western Aroostook.

 

 

 

~60 percent of Northern Maine is being used for industries like logging and etc.. ~30% is not being used for anything, or is inhabited and the other ~10% is Baxter State Park.

A large portion of endangered species in Maine are birds, and cutting down trees does not help them grow back their population. Building a State Park will let the public observe the birds and not harm them.

 

I talked with my father (who as I said before, is from Plymouth) about this manner and here is the dialogue. I am the italics and he is the bold.

“Would you say that most of Aroostook is being used for industries like logging and etc.?” - “Yes.”

“And you would also say that tourism is the largest industry in Maine?” - “Also correct”

“Baxter State Park is already taking advantage of the beauty of northern Maine, so would you think that building another state park in south-western Aroostook would be better than logging where it is now?” - “Yes, but it would have to be very carefully planned. It would be hard to promote such a remote place. Also, because it is so remote, it would be tough to access.”

“Would northern Allagash Wildlife Waterway be a better location?” - “Yes, actually. It would be a perfect location, but it would still be needed to be planned properly.”

 

So click "sign" and help put Northern Forestland in Maine to good use!