Tumbledown: One third of the land surrounding Tumbledown Mountain, one of the state's most popular hiking destinations, is for sale. There is currently a grassroots effort to keep Tumbledown as public land. Many of the the trails on Tumbledown cross into private property, and as large tracts are sold, liquidation harvesting, second-home development and subdivisions could follow. more: www.meepi.org

Maine Woods National Park: As proposed, the park would encompass an area around Baxter State Park and would be nearly eight times as big as that park, or about 3.2 million acres. Most of that land is now in timber production.Governor Angus King is opposed to it, and the environmental groups in the state are split on it. resources: www.restore.org; www.meepi.org

The Allagash: The Allagash is the best and longest wilderness canoe journey in the Eastern US. The distinctive and defining qualities of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway (AWW) are its wilderness character; the extraordinary, multi-day, remote recreational experience it offers; its historic importance; and its national significance. Indeed, as part of the national Wild & Scenic River System, the AWW is a national treasure. It deserves special attention to preserve its special wilderness qualities.

In 1966, the Maine Legislature passed the Allagash Wilderness Waterway Act, and citizens voted a $1.5 million bond. Both measures stated this objective: develop “maximum wilderness character.” In 1972, the Attorney General’s Office wrote DOC: “The whole purpose of the [statute] is to preserve the Waterway as a wilderness area. Public roads would obviously be inconsistent with that purpose.” By 2001, DOC had allowed 14 accesses, a 700 percent expansion and 16 parking lots, reducing the Allagash from wild (“generally inaccessible except by trail … essentially primitive”) to recreational (“readily accessible by road”), an illegal demotion. for more: www.meepi.org; www.tu.org

The Allagash Wilderness Waterway was under assault this year, as two bills were introduced that would have diminished the wilderness character of the Allagash. One bill was mischievously titled "An Act to Enhance Governance of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway.” Among other things, this bill would have established in statute seven permanent vehicle access points on the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. When originally established, there was to be only one vehicle access point at each end of the waterway. In the face of an overwhelming turn-out of people who cherish the Allagash, this bill was defeated.