Yes to national monument

To the editor:

While hosting their regional hearings, Sen. Angus King and Rep. Bruce Poliquin said they wanted to make sure voices of the Katahdin region were heard regarding the lands designated for a North Woods national monument. Our voices are important because we live here.

With the exception of the time I attended and graduated from the University of Maine in Orono, I’ve lived in Millinocket. My father worked in management at Great Northern Paper for four decades. My husband, who is from Medway, and I chose to raise our family in the Katahdin region because it is home. All we ask is for the same opportunity for our children. The economic revitalization offered by a national monument designation is a step toward that hope and opportunity.

At King’s meeting with National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis in Orono, residents of the Katahdin region joined hundreds of Mainers to speak in favor of the designation of a national monument. Of the 1,300 or so in attendance, at least 1,150-1,200 were there in support. (Could someone please tell Gov. Paul LePage and Poliquin that only 200 people rode seven buses to Orono and of those 200 only 34 came from Portland. In fact, 38 came from the Katahdin region.)

Likewise, at Poliquin’s meeting in East Millinocket, Katahdin region residents overwhelmingly came out in support of the national monument designation. Only a dozen people spoke in opposition, and several didn’t live in this area.

We’ve raised our voices as requested. It is time for King and Poliquin to lead.

Shelley Farrington
Millinocket