Ricky Craven Returning to Greenville
The 9th annual “Ricky Craven Snowmobile Ride for Charity” is tomorrow (Saturday, January 28th) in Greenville.

Barring significant snowfall before tomorrow, the event will forgo the usual snowmobile loop for a morning social event with everyone in attendance getting a chance to talk to Ricky Craven himself. Participants will still gather at 6:00 a.m. at Greenville High School with breakfast to take place from 6:00-8:00 a.m. If the area does get significant snowfall by Saturday, a limited ride would begin after breakfast at 8:30 a.m.

The afternoon will include lunch and an autograph session with Ricky Craven. The popular event has raised over $1 million since the first ride in 1998, and over the past eight years the Snowmobile Ride for Charity has become one of the signature winter happenings in the Moosehead Lake region.

The Coalition Information office will be open all day tomorrow to welcome visitors. There are special events planned at the Community House in downtown Greenville, so our staffer Frances Turner will be there to greet people as they arrive.

If you are in Greenville this weekend, please stop by!

Deal to Preserve Katahdin Lake
The Trust for Public Land is in negotiations for a land-swap agreement that would add Katahdin Lake and 6,015 acres surrounding it to Baxter State Park. Katahdin Lake lies directly east of the park and the summit of Mount Katahdin. The property shares a 7-mile boundary with the park. Hiking trails provide access to the lake from the south and from within the park to the west.

If added to the park, the land around the lake would be subject to Governor Baxter's Deeds of Trust - the guidelines that have kept the park undeveloped and accessible to the public but have also prohibited hunting, aircraft, snowmobiles, ATVs or motorcycles in most areas of the park. There would be two exceptions in the Katahdin Lake area: Float planes would be allowed to continue landing on Katahdin Lake and motorboats would be allowed there because of historic use.

The trust has an option to acquire the land until July 1st from Gardner Land Co. of Lincoln, a timber harvesting company. The property was appraised at $13 million, but Gardner wants timberland in exchange for the property so it can continue to supply its mills. The Baxter State Park Authority, which is led by Attorney General Steven Rowe, has unanimously endorsed the Katahdin Lake acquisition.

The agreement calls for the trust to give Gardner numerous tracts of land with the same total appraised value - $13 million. Those properties include private and state-owned timber lots totaling about 21,000 acres. To finalize the deal, the trust must raise $14 million, enough to buy the public and private woodlots needed for the swap and to pay for permanent protection of the lake. It already has raised more than $3 million.

In addition, two-thirds of Maine's Legislature must vote in favor of including 7,400 acres of state-owned land in the deal. Lawmakers are expected to take up the land-swap next month.

Mark Your Calendars
The Coalition will host a booth at the 26th annual State of Maine Sportsman's Show at the Augusta Civic Center March 31st through April 2nd.

The Sportsman's Show is a hugely popular Maine tradition with thousands of people coming from all over the state. The Coalition booth will include materials outlining the latest revisions to the Plum Creek plan as well as information on other important events and issues concerning northern Maine. Stop by and say hello!

The Coalition is looking for volunteers to help man the booth. If you volunteer, you will get into the Show at no charge. Let Frances know at the Coalition Information Center (1-888-702-7466) if you can join us at the booth for a while.

Seeking Volunteers for the PCEDC Tourism Committee
The Piscataquis County Economic Development Council (PCEDC) is seeking 12 people concerned about the economic future of Piscataquis County to volunteer for the new PCEDC Tourism Committee.

This standing committee was formed to oversee and to implement the recently announced recommendations of the Piscataquis Tourism Task Force. These eight recommendations can be found online at: www.pcedc.org/tourismtaskforce

The PCEDC is seeking volunteers who represent the following:

• Private sector representatives from Moosehead Lake Region Chamber of Commerce
• Private sector representatives from the So. Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce
• At-large members to represent different regions within Piscataquis County
• Landowner representative
• Municipal manager
• County manager
• Regional marketing representative from Maine Highlands Corporation
• State level representative from Maine Office of Tourism

If you are interested in countywide economic development and wish to help Piscataquis County’s growing tourism sector, please submit your name for consideration by 4:00 p.m., January 31, 2006. Nominations can be e-mailed to info@pcedc.org or by calling (207) 564-3638.

Visit the Coalition Web Site
You can find more information about the Coalition at our web site at www.preservegrowme.org.

Coalition Information Center
Location: Community House · 6 Lakeview Street · Greenville · Maine
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 944 · Greenville · Maine · 04441
Telephone: 207-695-2264 (toll free 888-702-7466)
Web Site: www.preservegrowme.org

Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. Please forward this to your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers and organizations you belong to and help us spread the word. Any questions or comments may be directed to Edie Leary eleary@eatonpeabody.com or Will Gardiner wgardiner@eatonpeabody.com or by calling The Coalition Information Center at 1-888-702-7466 or (207) 695-2264.