The 3.1-mile trail segment that crosses Saddleback Mountain in western Maine will be preserved under an agreement between the owners of the Saddleback ski area and the U.S. Interior Department. The agreement was trumpeted in November, but the completion of the deal is expected to be anticlimactic. The deal will be closed in private, just like the talks continued off and on for years.
Most people are just glad it s over.
We ve been debating this for a long time and nothing worked until a big chunk of money was put on the table, said David Field, chairman of the Maine Appalachian Trail Conference. The agreement calls for the sale of 597 acres, the donation of 570 acres and a scenic easement on 323 acres, along with an agreement to keep one side of the mountain undeveloped and to keep a buffer zone between the trail and ski trails, lifts and buildings. Though the price tag raised some eyebrows, conservationists say it s worth the money to preserve a key portion of the trail. At the time there were those of us who didn t feel real great about it. The segment that crosses the ridge of Saddleback Mountain is the largest of 200 unprotected parcels along the 2,167-mile path from Georgia s Springer Mountain to Mount Katahdin in Maine.