 September 2022
Commissioner Beal discussing a bog bridge with an MCC Field Team at Camden Hills State Park.
Growing up as a city kid, I thought a ?job in the outdoors? meant you were a construction worker, a firefighter, or if you were lucky, you worked at a zoo. My first summer job, as a 16-year-old working for the Youth Conservation Corps, opened my eyes to a different kind of outdoor job. That summer job led to several more like it, and together those seasonal jobs changed the path of my life. As a result, when I have the chance to meet with Maine Conservation Corps?(MCC) trail crews, as I did with Commissioner Beal at Camden Hills State Park in August, I see a bit of myself in them. The MCC is an outstanding but under-the-radar program within the Bureau of Parks and Lands, and it serves multiple functions. As a job training program, the MCC provides valuable work and life skills that benefit volunteers in just about any profession. (Imagine camping with your co-workers all summer long!) As a service to the state and other landowners, MCC field teams complete much-needed trail work at heavily-used sites like Tumbledown Mountain (photo #2 = MCC Field Team with their stone steps on Tumbledown Mt.). In addition to the great work of MCC trail crews, MCC Environmental Stewards lend energy, creativity, and enthusiasm to state agencies and conservation organizations across the state. In my recent visit with the MCC crew at Camden Hills State Park, crew members hailed from places like Kansas City, New Jersey, and North Carolina. Many were at a crossroads in their early lives, and most had never been to Maine. I hope their trail work experience serves them as well as mine did, and I hope they will someday call Maine home.
~Andy Cutko, Director, Maine Bureau Bureau of Parks and Lands
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The State Park Campground Reservations Call Center will close for the season on Friday, September 9, 2022, at 4:00 p.m. EST. Thank you for a wonderful camping season. We hope to see you again next summer!
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Internet Reservations will continue through to Sunday, 9/11/2022 until 4:00? p.m. EST at www.CampWithME.com
Off Season & Winter Camping
*Camping season ends for the year for:
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Peaks-Kenny: Campground closes for the year on October 1
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Rangeley Lake: Campground closes for the year on October 1
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Warren Island: Campground closes for the year on September 15
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Campground rates vary by location.
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Campground Maps.
- No camping is permitted at the Parks from October 16 to December 14. This break allows for park maintenance of the campground areas.
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Winter Camping, as primitive tent camping only, is offered December 15 - March 15 at select Maine State Park Campgrounds.
2023 Campground Reservation Dates for Call Center & Online Reservations:
- Sebago Lake State Park ? Wednesday, February 1, 2023, at 9:00 AM, EST (storm date if Maine State Government is closed ? Thursday, February 2, 2023)
- All parks - Monday, February 6, 2023, at 9:00 AM, EST (storm date if Maine State Government is closed ? Tuesday, February 7, 2023)
www.CampWithME.com
2023 Group Campsite and Group Picnic Shelter Reservations ? for all parks
- Wednesday, February 1, 2023, at 9:00 AM, EST
Call the park-specific phone numbers for these reservations:
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Colburn House State Historc Site. Color photo taken in 2022. Black and white photo taken in 1913.
The National Park Service (NPS) notified the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) that it has earned a $500,000 grant to rehabilitate the Colburn House State Historic Site. Andy Cutko, DACF Bureau of Parks and Lands (BPL) Director, received news of the award. The Colburn House grant was included as part of the $7 million NPS Semiquincentennial Grant Program, commemorating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. Colburn House, built in 1765 and included in the National Register of Historic Places, is renowned for its ownership by the shipbuilder and friend of George Washington, Major Reuben Colburn. Colburn played a prominent role in Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec. One of seventeen BPL-owned Historic Sites, interior tours of Colburn House have been closed to the public since 2019 for needed renovations.?
"We're grateful to NPS for helping DACF fund this important rehabilitation project that will ultimately allow us to reopen Colburn House and create rich visitor experiences," said DACF Commissioner Amanda Beal. "The NPS grant highlights the important role of federal support in preserving Bureau of Parks and Lands Historic Sites and helping us continue to tell the important stories about the significance of these sites."?
"We are extremely happy and honored to have earned this NPS grant and to preserve this important historical jewel for generations to come," said BPL Director Andy Cutko. ?Thank you to the Maine Historic Preservation Commission for identifying the NPS Semiquincentennial Grant Program and providing assistance and guidance throughout the application process.??
"We prioritize every day and every year, and this generous grant will allow us to move forward with refurbishing this treasured destination," said BPL Southern Region State Park and Historic Site manager Gary Best.??
Support for the Semiquincentennial Grant Program was also provided by Senators Collins and King and Representative?Golden, as well as state Senator Craig?Hickman?and Representative Jeffery Hanley. ?
In the NPS award announcement Park Service Director Chuck Sams stated, "National parks and National Park Service programs serve to tell authentic and complete history, provide opportunities for exploring the legacies that impact us today, and contribute to healing and understanding. Through the Semi-quincentennial Grant Program, we are supporting projects that showcase the many places and stories that contributed to the evolution of the American experience."??
The NPS Sem-quincentennial Grant Program was created by Congress in 2020 and funded through the Historic Preservation Fund. This round of grants supports 17 cultural resource preservation projects across 12 states.?
Read the full text of the NPS Grant Announcement.
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Before and after shots of the Scapegoats in a patch of knotweed at Crescent Beach State Park. They leveled it!
The Scapegoats, sponsored for their mission at Crescent Beach State Park by Inn by the Sea, are the hardworking goats of Heather Lombard of Kennebunk. Invited back this summer after their successful July 2021 trial program visit, they once again took the bite out of invasive plants and have proven their munching to be a sustainable solution for habitat restoration that preserves food sources and habitat for local wildlife. And, park visitors were thrilled to once again see the goats for another week this season.
As the before and after photos show, the goats leveled two large knotweed infestations at Crescent Beach. Their work complements that of park volunteers, known as the Summer Knotweed Party, who meet each week to clip knotweed shoots by hand in select areas and to keep an eye out for any spread of this highly aggressive introduced invasive that out-competes native plants and destroys wildlife habitat. The combined clipping power of the goats and park volunteers impairs the knotweed's ability to store enough nutrients over the winter for starting new growth come springtime. Clipping also keeps the plant from flowering and seeding a new crop of knotweed. Controlling knotweed takes persistence over seven to ten years, patience, and a long view of habitat restoration. We are grateful to our park volunteers, the goats, and Inn by the Sea for continuing to sponsor the goats' work at Crescent Beach State Park.
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Gov. Mills with Rep. Hepler, Sen. Vitelli, Phippsburg resident Deb Stockwell, and DACF staff, including Commissioner Amanda Beal and Bureau of Parks and Lands Director Andy Cutko visit Popham Beach to survey the new accessibility upgrade - a mobility pathway.
The installation of the mobility pathway at Popham Beach State Park on August 3, 2022 and the immediate use by many grateful beach visitors.
A mobility pathway is now available at Popham Beach State Park to improve accessibility to the beach. This collaborative project began when Phippsburg resident Deb Stockwell contacted state representative Allison Hepler about the need for a pathway.?Together they and their I LOVE Popham Beach! community developed the project concept with State Park staff.?
A recent Allagash Wilderness Waterway(AWW) staff training was held at Scofield Point on Churchill Lake. It included deep water rescue training with Game Wardens Mark Hutcheson and Alex Maxsimic of the?Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and swift water rescue training led by Rangers?Keith Turdo, Nolan Jacobs, and Ed Palys.? AWW staff experienced being both victims and rescuers during the sessions, learned how to deal with pinned canoes, and practiced a variety of scenarios and safety protocols that will aid them in helping visitors who paddle the Allagash.
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Photos on left show AWW Artist Jordan Parks demonstrating printmaking. Middle photos show AWW Assistant Ranger Alissa Lutz giving it a try. Photos on right show attendee and final piece. All photos by Mark Deroche.
Jordan Parks, AWW Visiting Artist 2022, held an open studio at the Chamberlain Bridge Ranger Station on August 25? to demonstrate her printmaking and discuss how her visit to the Allagash Wilderness Waterway has impacted her and inspired the creation of new art. Visitors enjoyed getting hands-on with her process and we all look forward to seeing the art that is inspired by Jordan's stay at the Allagash.
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Light pollution impacts us all: birds, insects, plants, and even humans. None of us live as our best healthiest selves when lights interrupt the night. Learn ways to reduce light pollution in your backyard, neighborhood, or town by watching the film short Which Animals are Most Impacted by Light Pollution.
For more information on how you can protect the night sky visit one of our partnering organizations:
We encourage you to share this with your friends, neighbors, and groups who may be interested in promoting good dark sky lighting. View the trailer for the full movie.
A Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund grant supported the production of the full-length film and film shorts shot by Tara Roberts Zabriskie. The Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands is a partner on this project along with the organizations highlighted above and at the end of the film.
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Bradbury Mt. State Park, Pownal
Camden Hills State Park, Camden
Ferry Beach State Park, Saco
Wolfe's Neck Woods State Park, Freeport
Send article suggestions or newsletter comments to?Jocelyn Hubbell, Interpretive Specialist, webmaster, and newsletter editor for the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands.
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