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Upper Kennebec Region - Management Plan
The Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands (BPL) has adopted a 15-year management plan for approximately 43,300 acres of lands known as the Upper Kennebec Region. The region roughly encompasses the area between the town of Bingham and Wyman lake, north along the Old Canada Road (US 201) to the Canadian border, and eastward from Jackman to encompass Long Pond and westward to the Canadian border, in Somerset and Franklin Counties. This plan will guide the Bureau’s management of the Holeb, Cold Stream Forest, and Sandy Bay Public Lands, as well as other Bureau fee and easement lands on and to the east and west of the US 201 corridor.
The Upper Kennebec Region Plan is posted below. To read these files, you will need a copy of the free Adobe Reader software.
Plan Update and Review
The Bureau of Parks and Lands has begun the first Five-Year Review of the 2019 Upper Kennebec Region Management Plan covering the period from 2019 through 2024. The Integrated Resource Policy (IRP) requires that the Bureau, at five year intervals, report to the Advisory Committee (AC) on accomplishments and changing conditions that may warrant amendments to the plan.
The Five-Year Review is prepared in a table format. It is linked below as a PDF under Management Plan Review Documents. It:
- Lists plan recommendations (left column), and
- Actions taken to implement each recommendation (right column), and
- Identifies, from the Bureau's perspective, any issues any new issues or circumstances that were not addressed in the plan that may warrant Committee discussion or action (at end of table).
The Five-Year Review table was sent to Advisory Committee members on January 3, 2025.
As described below the review table, the Bureau identified one new issue: the development of a management plan for the 1,483-acre Kennebec Gorge parcels acquired in 2020. The Bureau is drafting a plan for the parcels which, when adopted, will be appended to the Upper Kennebec Plan.
The Bureau asked AC members for comments on the review table and to identify any new issues or circumstances that may Committee input or action. Written comments will be accepted for four weeks following the email distribution of the review materials. The Bureau will also hold a public meeting to present the Kennebec Gorge management plan and to listen to questions and take comments. Notice of the public meeting will be posted on this webpage.
A Final Report on the Five-Year Review, summarizing the review process and the Bureau’s responses to comments will be sent to the Advisory Committee.
Public Meetings
| Date and Time | Headline | Location | Additional Information |
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Management Plan Review Documents
Management Plan Documents
- Upper Kennebec Region Plan
- Part 1: Final Upper Kennebec Region Plan (PDF 1.4MB)
- Part 2: Final Upper Kennebec Region Plan (PDF 1.8MB)
- Part 3: Final Upper Kennebec Region Plan (PDF 1.2MB)
- Part 4: Final Upper Kennebec Region Plan (PDF 480KB)
- Part 5: Final Upper Kennebec Region Plan (PDF 2.2MB)
- Addendum to Plan – August 12, 2019 (PDF 16KB)
- Appendices – Upper Kennebec Region Plan
- Maps of the Region:
For more information
Jim Vogel
Senior Planner
Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands
22 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333
(207) 287-2163