Saddleback Settlement Protects Core Features

The settlement, announced November 1, 2000, of issues surrounding protection for the Appalachian Trail across Saddleback Mountain in western Maine falls short of what the Appalachian Trail Conference and the National Park Service sought, but an unbroken, core corridor will be in public hands, hikers will still benefit, and two key objectives were achieved, conference officials say.

First, the last major “missing link” in the 2,167-mile Trail's corridor of publicly owned greenway will be closed when the Boston-based landowner conveys 1,115 acres to the National Park Service (NPS) and accepts a scenic easement on another 320 acres.

Second, the agreement brings under public protection the entire southeast quadrant of the Saddleback Ski Area property and a substantial area around remote Eddy Pond, ending the possibility of ski crossings of the Trail atop a spectacular mountain with awe-inspiring panoramic vistas.

ATC Executive Director Dave Startzell also notes the deal protects 90 percent of the immediate, nationally significant viewshed around the mountain, keeps the ski area from using Eddy Pond as a source of water for snowmaking, and preserves the alpine tundra and perhaps 95 percent of the associated krummholz communities.

Those are “major conservation achievements,” says ATC's volunteer chairman, David B. Field, a native of the Saddleback area who has maintained a section of the Trail there for nearly 40 years.

However, the land and adjacent scenic easements being purchased or “donated” — in the owner's characterization — will result in a narrow buffer of varying widths of 100 to 400 feet between the trail and potential ski development to the west. The corridor is particularly narrow on the northwest side of the mountain above the “bowl” of The Horn and high on Saddleback peak. The agreement will not in itself stop future development in some areas visible from the footpath.

The Trail has followed its current route there for 65 years. ATC vows to be an active player in any future state permitting processes involving proposed ski development on Saddleback. The state a decade ago conditionally approved a major expansion of the small resort, but the current owner, Donald Breen, never proceeded with that investment. The entire 11,000-acre property (including the ski area) has been for sale since 1997, and Breen has said it will be up to a new owner to expand the facilities.

Following a 1999 environmental assessment by NPS, ATC had advocated an 893-acre trail corridor consistent with the corridor for most of the Appalachian Trail in Maine and elsewhere. That would have protected the mountain's alpine and subalpine zones but still allowed the ski area to expand to nine times its current capacity.

Startzell says that balanced approach also would have brought major economic benefits to the nearby town of Rangeley — if a new owner of the property made the necessary investments to build a competitive resort. ATC is deeply interested in cultivating a working relationship with any new owner in the hope of ensuring that any future development is designed to minimize adverse scenic and environmental impacts, Startzell says.

NPS chose the ATC-advocated option as its “preferred alternative” and the basis for negotiations that resumed last April. On-again, off-again negotiations between NPS and Donald Breen and his family, owners of the property for about 20 years, began in 1985.

Startzell participated in the negotiations between NPS and the Breens, backed by representatives of Maine's senators, until August, when he withdrew from a situation he characterized as a stalemate.

An outgoing Interior Department assistant secretary, John Berry, restarted the talks directly with lawyers for the owners in late September. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, who was briefly involved, did not respond to a written request from ATC and several Maine and New England-based conservation groups in mid-October for similar meetings with Trail interests.

The $4-million agreement required special congressional authorization because NPS is not permitted by law to pay more than fair market value for land acquired to protect the Appalachian Trail. The Breens previously had rejected at least two NPS offers to purchase the “preferred alternative” area and a much larger one proposed in 1987, saying the offers were far below the value they placed on the undeveloped land.

The maps here show the area covered by the agreement in relation to the alpine zone and to the viewsheds rated “outstanding quality.” Click on the thumbnail maps to see the larger image.

	Saddleback Final Proposed Agreement
	Alpine Vegetation and Proposed NPS Corridor
	Area of Outstanding Visual Quality and Proposed NPS Corridor