Here's an idea.....Why don't they rebuild RT 1 so the tourist can get there to visit the site. Parts of Rt 1 south to Machais are nearly impassable, but DOT only throws cold patch and gravel at it.

DOT finally got the highway rebuilt North of Perry and work has been done on it quite a way South ---but, before you get down to East Machias it is a disgrace. Hopefully they'll get to it soon.

As for the Ranger Station at the St. Croix Historical site ,most think it's a waste of money. The story of the Spaniards voyage and their short stay there is well described and explained there already . Why the place would need a permanent Ranger there and a new maintenance facility with so few visitors stopping is a puzzle.

Another attempt by the locals to increase the tourism industry.... who cam blame them? Federally funded too... but at the end of the day this tourist destination will struggle to attract even flies.... much like the heritage museum in down town Calais that was going to attract 90,000 people a year.

i smell pork

The ranger station was developed by the Parks Service, not by folks in Calais... I had though hoped that instead of a "ranger station" at Red Beach, that they Parks Service might of stepped in and obtained the heritage center from Rural Development. They could have keep it going as part of the Arcadia Park, and used it especially during the winter months. It could have been used also as a visitor site to then direct folks downriver to the Red Beach/St Croix Island site.

developed by the parks service obviously... initiated by the folks of Calais... as stated several times in the article. Citizens can't declare a pile of red beach granite rocks to be a national monument and have it be recognized as such.

I still can't figure out how to balance the budget ! .....Although this may be a good idea , I think it's time to stop spending until we have money to do so .

Yes maybe port but it will be spent here in washington county.HOW ABOUT THAT.

PORK not port

I can see it now, two tourist from (insert city or state) are comming across Rt. 9. They see a sign saying St. Croix Island 20 miles with an arrow. The wife looks at her husband and say's "I thought we were going to the Caribean next year. Did you get us lost again?" The husband says,"I don't care, I'm following the signs that say Canada and the line has just formed here where they are warning us about some sort of traffic circle." Ten minutes later the wife says "that's not a traffic circle that's a flower pot!" The husband replies, "maybe that's the Island the sign was talking about." The wife says," look theres a truch driving onto the island. Why haven't we seen a tourist bureau?"

Wow.... what a park... room for about 10 c cars to park.... 5 min to walk down and read the little signs...peek across the river at the island and back to the car. Thousands and thousands for those bronze statues...which I would call storybook figures and not art or representative of what people would have looked and dressed like at that time...Now they want a full time ranger .... what a waste of money.

They have a full time ranger.... since 2005 per the article. And REX, where in the article does it say that Calais People came up with the idea of the ranger station! Talk about not reading the article. The only reference to local input was on getting the island recognized and a "park" put down there. The interior department, yup the same one that shafted the heritage center with pulling funding after the building was built, has been down around the Red Beach area buying up the homes on the river side, and dumping money into the little park that's there, and are now building the ranger hut. I would bet that they have spent far more on that project then what they had pledged to the DHC. But now we have an semi-empty building on the river that Rural Development is holding onto, and they want to spend more money on a facility down at the park that they only have folks stop by what.... 4 - 5 months during the year. I'm at least one of the few locals that does take visitors down to see it, but can tell you that each time I've gone, we've been the only ones there....

MORE WASTED TAX DOLLARS - WHO IN THE HELL CARES WHERE SOMEONE MAY HAVE STOOD 400 YEARS AGO - GEEEZE - IT IS ABOUT AS BRILLIANT AS PUTTING UP A STATUE OF CHAMBERLAIN AND THE UNDERGROUND TUNNEL IN BREWER - NEVER HAPPENED - NEVER WAS - NOBODY CARES - MORE WASTED LAND AND DOLLARS BY A COUPLE OF MENTALLY ILL PEOPLE - I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF SEN. NUTTING HAD A HAND IN THIS TOO! IDIOT

wow.... take a chill man and thinkaboutit !!

I agree totally with novajoe and eastmainer. The strech of road from Bells bridge in Edmunds all the way to East machias should be condemned. The guardrails along that strech west of indian lake look like someone ran over them with a bulldozer and if you drive more than 35 mph you take a chance of beating your vehicle to death.

What A big Fat waste of time and maybe they should make that herritage place something that we can use. maybe a small shopping mall, that would be great instead of having to go to bangor. the money will be spent in calais

Was this article a poem? Why is it all hy-pho-nat-ed.

Waste of money.

Thank you Senators Snowe and Collins for wasting more of our money.By the way are you going

to covered with the great ones new health care or are you to special.Do the tax-payers of Maine

a favor and resign.You're a disgrace

chill people...