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Money Needed to Upgrade State Parks

October 16, 2007 - WELD - Light rain fell Thursday as state park leaders outlined upgrades and repairs that could be made at Mount Blue State Park if a $35.5 million bond question is approved in November.

Question 4 on the Nov. 6 ballot contains $7.5 million for repairs and upgrades to the state's parks and historic sites.

Mount Blue park Manager Bruce Farnham gave a tour Thursday of the park, which is about 8,000 acres, the largest in acreage among the state's 33 state parks, to review possible work projects that could be done. Those projects include putting electrical lines underground rather than keeping them where branches can hit lines and knock out power, upgrading a nearly 40-year-old septic system and leach field near Webb Lake, and improving an access road to the Center Hill picnic area, a popular sledding place in the winter.

Other possibilities are to upgrade a playground area in the campground that has older-style swings, a horse shoe pit and a basketball hoop in disrepair, and adding another group shelter or two for visitors to use.

Maine Department of Conservation deputy Commissioner Eliza Townsend and Jim Crocker, the department's public information director, discussed the proposed park improvements as they drove around the grounds, stopping in several places to get details of what needs to be done.

Mount Blue park, which opened in 1940, has 136 campsites, 25 miles of multi-use trails and other features including a nature center and amphitheater, that draw an average of about 60,000 to 70,000 visitors a year, Farnham said.

It usually sees 25,000 to 30,000 campers and between 40,000 and 45,000 day visitors year-round, many from around Maine, he said. The cost for a camp site is $15 a night for up to 6 people for Maine residents and $20 for nonresidents.

Crocker said attendance at Maine's state parks and historic sites was up a record-breaking 9 percent through September. At month's end, more than 2 million people visited the state's 47 parks and historic sites.

Attendance at parks and historic sites was up 172,000 visitors in August and September, Crocker said, and state officials think that the governor's "Take It Outside" initiative helped bring people outdoors to enjoy the state's natural resources.

There is an estimated $30 million to $40 million in work needed at the parks and historic sites to help preserve the state's natural resources, Townsend said.

"In order to keep people coming and the experiences great, we need to continue to invest," she said. "We obviously have to prioritize and we're hoping to have a good healthy mix of repairs and upgrades."

Mount Blue is the second most visited campground in Maine, Crocker said, behind Sebago Lake State Park, which has nearly twice as many campsites.

The Weld campground officially closed Oct. 1, Farnham said, but people can camp year-round if they walk in.

The state's parks and sites, which Townsend referred to as "gems" owned by the people, play a major role in the state's $13.2 billion tourism industry, Townsend said.

"We want to do repair and upgrades but the parks are in great shape," Crocker said, or they wouldn't continue to attract visitors.

Another issue that needs to be addressed in many of the parks, Townsend said, is making sure they meet the Americans with Disabilities Act to be accessible to everybody.

"Obviously this year, we want to spend the money well and show Maine people what they got for the money because we are going to have to come back to ask for more," Townsend said.

SOURCE: Sun-Journal (Lewiston,ME)

DATE: 10-12-2007


Lakes: Webb
Regions: Rangeley


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