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Management plan for Tumbledown/Mt. Blue State Park to be discussed Jan. 28

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FARMINGTON – The state bureau responsible for parks and public land will be hosting a meeting about Tumbledown Mountain and Mt. Blue State Park on Jan. 28, an an initial step in developing a 15-year management plan for the region.

The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s Bureau of Parks and Lands will be holding the meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 28 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at North Dining Hall B in the University of Maine at Farmington’s Olsen Student Center. The purpose of the meeting, according to Bureau Senior Planner Jim Vogel, is to share information and obtain input from the public about the area. That input will help an advisory committee develop a management plan for the Tumbledown/Mt. Blue parcels, a first for the region.

The plan will encompass the Tumbledown Public Land section, more than 10,500 acres around Tumbledown Mountain, as well as the more than 8,000 acres that make up Mt. Blue State Park. The combined region stretches around northern Weld, including Township 6, Phillips, Avon and Temple, and hosts a wide range of activities, from hiking and skiing to fishing and camping to snowmobiling and ATV trails. It is also the largest example of an Alpine Ecosystem documented in the state, home to a number of rare animals and plants, including the Peregrine Falcon and the Acadian Quillwort, as well as waterfowl wading habitat and deer wintering yards. Also included within the plan will be 10,000 acres of abutting working forest that are protected by conservation easements held by the Bureau.

Management plans are created for lands overseen by the Bureau to guide decision making over a 15-year period, according to Vogel. He noted that even after the plan is created, roughly a year-long process, there are two plan review periods included by statute: one at 5 years and the second at 10 years. Plans look at different uses for the region, considering aspects such as recreational opportunities, wild animal habitat, scenic resources and timber harvesting.

The Bureau works with an Advisory Committee that includes representatives of state and local interests in the region. That committee will meet publicly over the next several months until a draft plan is created. That plan is then presented at another meeting, similar to the initial scoping one, and comments are collected over a three-week period. It then goes to the DACF commissioner to be adopted.

A website has been created by the DACF to collect management plan material for the Tumbledown/Mt. Blue State Park region. Additional questions can be directed to Vogel at jim.vogel@maine.gov.

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3 Comments

  1. The state loves to waste money conducting planning meetings. Too bad they don’t produce results!

  2. Remember follow the money trail. Someone spotted a tree big enough to get a 2×4 out of so away we go. The “PLAN” is how much can we take now and how soon can we do it again.

  3. I Heard y’all people who love this area to attend this meeting and give your input if you don’t participate you shouldn’t complain about the consequences .

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