Greenville resident Loren Ritchie conceived the idea of the coalition in August of 2000. Ritchie was concerned, as are many Greenville residents, that popular support might be gained for a National Park in the Maine Woods without those who live here having a say about it. "We need a strong, collective voice – a power base – to counter proposals by powerful out-of-state special interest groups that threaten our way of life", Ritchie explained.

Greenville Town Manager John Simko helped to transform Ritchie's idea into a working group that has met three times in Greenville. The group has decided to form a non-profit corporation dedicated to advance the common interests of local recreational, commercial, and industrial users of the northern Maine forest through a program of education, consensus building, and related activities.

Founding members of the coalition feel strongly that local property owners, residents and business people should have the final say in what does and does not happen to the Maine Woods. As one of its corporate purposes, the Maine Woods Coalition plans to educate the public in Maine and nationally about protections in place today to protect the Maine Woods, and to show how the economy of Northern Maine would be detrimentally impacted should the proposed federal acquisition of large tracts of land occur.

"The value of the Maine Woods Coalition is that it will serve as a voice for what the people living and working in the greater Piscataquis County region have to say about the future of the Maine Woods. To be a member of the group, you have to live, work, or own property in either Piscataquis, Penobscot, Somerset, or Aroostook Counties. Piscataquis County makes up the largest portion of the Maine Woods, which is why all of our meetings to date have been in Piscataquis County" said Town Manager John Simko. "But there will be ways that people from outside this area may help us, if they so choose, without being a voting member of the organization" Simko added.

The group plans to define the current condition of the Maine Woods through mapping of current ownership, LURC protection, municipal shoreland zone protection, public ownership, and conservation easement protection of the region. The public education effort of the Maine Woods Coalition will - highlight the value of Maine's tradition of private land ownership in the Maine Woods - highlight the tradition of voluntary access agreements between recreational users and private property owners, and will - show the value of a multi-use forest for all people.

"By showing the public what recreational opportunities are currently available without a National Park, we hope to dispel the myth that a Maine Woods National Park is necessary at all." Simko said.

Attendees at the initial meetings of the Maine Woods Coalition have included, but were not limited to, representatives from the Town of Greenville, the Piscataquis County Commission, Greenville's Legislative Delegation, the Moosehead Lake Region Chamber of Commerce, the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council, Eaton & Peabody Attorneys at Law, the Friends of Moosehead, Plum Creek Timber, Great Northern Paper Company, the Maine Forest Products Council, Hilton-Oakes Wildlands, the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, the Northern Forest Alliance, Businesses for the Northern Forest, the Moosehead Marine Museum, North Country Healthy Communities, and the Natural Resources Education Center. It is important to note that while these organizations have been represented at initial meetings, none have yet to commit to membership on the Maine Woods Coalition. It is hoped such commitments will be made after the group is formalized.

The Maine Woods Coalition will meet at 1:30 PM on Thursday, December 7, 2000 at the Columbia-Doric Masonic Lodge in Greenville. The founders of the group intend to further discuss the work plan for the group, and also hope to finalize the paperwork necessary to incorporate as a non-profit group. The public is invited and encouraged to attend. For more information, please contact Greenville Town Manager John Simko at 695-2421.