By Emily Patrick
October 16, 2025 Edition
During my time working for the local newspaper, a theme I’ve explored again and again is public access to private land. Most recently, the issue has appeared in the Journal in relation to the closing of Burnt Jacket’s hiking trails after the mountain was privately sold. Though private landowners in Maine, like anywhere else, have certain rights, it can’t be denied Maine has a long tradition of public access to private land, and in recent years, this juxtaposition has caused more conflict than perhaps ever before.
Maine Senate Bill 1308, passed on June 11, attempts to begin to solve this Statewide problem. It directs, “the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to examine issues related to public access to privately owned lands.” On Tuesday, September 23 in Augusta, a group of stakeholders met to begin the discussion.
The group was made up of 12 stakeholders, each representing a different interest in the discussion: one representing commercial forest owners, and Tom Doak small woodland owners. Bill Greaves represented North Maine Woods, and the Nature Conservancy was present, representing an organization that manages land or conservation easements. Maine Potato Growers was at the table for an agricultural perspective, James Cote represented our Maine Guides, and New England Outdoor Center repped the tourism and outdoor recreation industry (non-motorized).
A representative from the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine was present, representing hunters and anglers, and Al Swett from the Maine Snowmobile Association spoke for recreational vehicle users. Andy Cutko from the Bureau of Parks and Lands at DACF was present, as was Kris MacCabe, showing up for IF&W’s landowner relations program. Finally, Jeff McCabe, the Deputy Director of the Office of Outdoor Recreation, lent his input.
Before discussion started, the group gave some context. Before LD 1308 was passed, the Senate heard a “fair amount of testimony.” Senator Black of Senate District 5 represents large unorganized areas in Somerset County, among other areas in the district. Regarding public access to private land in this rapidly-changing region, namely for hunting, fishing and recreation purposes, Black wanted to know, “Are we doing enough right now? Do you have enough tools in the toolbox?”
One of the large catalysts for this discussion was the increase in major storm events in recent years that have caused road or infrastructure damage. In many cases, these incidents have made public access difficult, and oftentimes the landowners don’t have the resources available to correct the issue. Another driver of this bill and subsequent discussion was, of course, changing land access policies. For example, land changing hands and the new owner not allowing what was previously allowed, sometimes for many generations (sound familiar)?
The discussion started with explaining Maine’s tradition of land access to someone “from away.” Around the table, public land use was characterized as a beloved tradition that’s “pretty unique nationally.” Kris MacCabe said it’s a “treasured tradition…that we want for future generations.” The group was not sure there are any states in our nation that have as much private open land as we have here in Maine. Of course, here the issue arises. Snowmobiling is one of the most popular outdoor recreational sports in the State, drawing visitors from all over and carrying the State’s economy through the bleak winter months. What you may not know is this: 96% of our snowmobile trails are on private land.
The group’s objectives were to solicit and explore strategies to provide private landowners with incentives to maintain and expand recreational access, and to gather input form a broad range of individuals to “understand the history and value of and issues associated with the State’s tradition of public access to public and private property.”
Andy Cutko from Parks & Lands said the issue is a “huge economic driver in all of this for the State,” exemplified by the recent bipartisan support to allocate $30 million to improve trail systems state-wide. However, Bill Greaves, from North Maine Woods, pointed out, “[The] problem I have is the local people who take it for granted…that’s the challenge that we have.”
Tom Doak, representing small woodland owners, echoed this sentiment, saying landowners are “seeing a much more intrusive use of their land than they’ve ever seen” and that it’s “not what they signed up for.” This includes increasingly large ATVs, “snowmobiles going 100 mph,” e-bikes, off-trail recreation and cameras. “If we don’t deal with that,” he said, “then we will be losing access in big chunks.”
Others pointed out the problem with this. Many are drawn to our state because of the “hundreds of miles of connectivity” it offers. If any connection is interrupted, the impacts can be devastating, and the cost is high to reroute trails.
Though everyone at the table seemed to understand the gravity of the discussion and how it could shape the future of our State, very few solutions were put forward at the end of the meeting. Some kind of cost-sharing model was proposed. The Golden Road was used as an example, as it’s an area where the logging industry and public recreation intersect, and both groups care about the maintenance of the road and may agree to sharing the cost of doing so.
Jeff Grinnell, from Washington, Maine, spoke about how he worked “hyper-locally” over the past several years to maintain over 100 acres the people can hike, fish and hunt. He said, “We worked extremely local to create something that’s very unique, I believe to the State…there’s a lot of ways to work from the grassroots level with this.”
Moosehead Regional Land Trust President Carla Ritchie also attended the meeting, and provided us this statement: “People have benefitted from access to private land in the Moosehead Region for centuries–our livelihoods, hobbies, and businesses thrive due to this access. It is something that we shouldn’t take for granted. The majority of our region’s landowners continue to allow public access to their land. A huge thank you to them for helping this region sustain our way of life.
I’m looking forward to attending more meetings about this topic and seeing where it all ends up. According to the Maine Land Trust Network, Maine has the least amount of Public Land in New England at 6.9%. Continued access to the large tracts of private lands in the North Woods is crucial to our health and economy.” This is an ongoing process. At least two more in-person meetings of the group will be held in October, with the option for two additional meetings if needed. The group’s report will be drafted through December and the public comment period for the draft report is scheduled for January