Other Environmental Themes

The 100-Mile Wilderness

Some of the wildest land east of the Rockies lies in the Great North Woods of Maine. Perhaps no stretch is more rugged than the terrain surrounding the last leg of the Appalachian Trail, running between Monson, Maine and Mount Katahdin, the mile-high granite edifice that serves as the trail’s northern terminus. A traveler on this final segment, which passes through an area known as the 100-Mile Wilderness, will not cross a single paved road. A sign at the trailhead near Katahdin warns hikers that the nearest town (Monson) is 100 miles away-and a long 100 miles at that. The difficulty of this section, the sign adds, “should not be underestimated.” But those who complete the trip will be amply rewarded, treated to the haunting calls of loons, occasional glimpses of moose, and continuous views of jagged peaks, rushing streams, glistening lakes, and a seemingly endless expanse of mixed hardwood and conifer forest.

The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), which builds and maintains trails in the region, wants to ensure that the 100- Mile Wilderness remains unspoiled–a landscape worthy of its name. As part of its Maine Woods Initiative, the group is working to bring 100,000 acres in the region–much of which has been owned by timber companies–under permanent protection. The strategy, the AMC claims, “represents the most significant investment in conservation and recreation” in the club’s 135-year history.

The group took the first big step forward in 2003, when it purchased 37,000 acres in the center of the 100-Mile Wilderness. This tract, which provides a buffer around 25 miles of the Appalachian Trail, includes the headwaters of the West Branch of the Pleasant River and a trail to Gulf Hagas, a stunning gorge sometimes referred to as “the Grand Canyon of the East.” AMC took another big step in 2009, when it purchased (in concert with the Nature Conservancy) an adjacent 29,500-acre tract, immediately to the north, that is dotted with ponds and envelopes another 20-mile stretch of the famed hiking trail. More importantly, this second tract provides a direct link to a huge swath of protected land that includes Baxter State Park (in which Mount Katahdin lies) and the Katahdin Forest, immediately to the west. Combined, this adds up to an unbroken, 63-mile-long corridor of conservation land-650,000 contiguous acres in all–that is open to the public for recreational use.

Despite the progress that has been made, there’s a lot of work yet to be done, as most of the 100-Mile Wilderness is still under private control. But if the conservationists from AMC and other organizations can realize their bold agenda, they will have ensured that this remote land remains a wilderness forever-and not just in name only.