Katahdin Woods and Waters: The real deal?

To the Editor;
    Recently there has been a blitz of activity promoting the development of a National Park and Recreation Area near Baxter State Park, sometimes referred to as Katahdin Woods and Waters. The development of this park as proposed has serious implications for the people of Maine. Before we allow the National Park Service to take over this land, we should carefully consider both present day and future implications.
    I believe that there are three important questions the people of Maine should consider before allowing this proposal to move forward.

1.    Do we want to give land that belongs to the citizens of Maine to the federal government, to be controlled in perpetuity by powers outside our state and possibly counter to our best interests?
2.    Are the promises made of access to the land, development of the land, and future job growth in the area realistic and truthful?
3.    Will the project provide revenue to the people of Maine equal to or better than what is or could be provided by the lumber and tourist industries?
    I already see serious problems with the proposed Park and Recreation Area.
1.    Once the federal government, under the auspices of the National Park Service controls the land, they can close it down as they did in 2013. According to the National Park Service, the 16-day sequester shutdown in October of 2013 caused Acadia National Park to lose almost 200,000 visitors and $16 million in spending, a 67 percent decrease from the average for the years 2010-12.
2.    The people who are promoting the takeover of Maine land by the federal government and promising increased revenue to the area, are the people who worked to block the East-West Highway which would have brought people, money, and businesses to the area.
3.    Before land was acquired for this park, the area was open to hunters, snowmobiles, hikers, campers, etc. Once bought by the park promoters, roads were closed, shelters were dismantled, and no-trespassing restrictions were enforced. Some of the restrictions have recently been removed to encourage favorable views of the proposed park, but there is no evidence that the underlying desire to restrict use of this land has changed.
4.    A survey of the money generated in the other five New England states by the National Park Service ranges from $47.57 to $72 per visitor, with an average of $52.83 and a median of $55.47. These are all established sites and an estimate of $56 per visitor to arrive at the $21 million projected for the proposed Katahdin Park without any developed amenities seems highly unlikely for many years.
5.    Once the park is formed, environmental regulations would stop the development of most industries in the area. There have been promises that special exceptions could be made for development of this land; only a fool would trade an asset on unwritten promises, and the federal government does not have a very good track record of keeping promises.
Victoria Bucklin
Appleton