MILLINOCKET, Maine — Ever since he opened Spencer Cove Outfitters two years ago, Peter Michaud has heard from customers who want to kayak or canoe on Millinocket Stream across the street from his sporting goods store, he said Friday.
So Michaud is going to do something about it.
The Town Council gave him tentative permission Thursday to work with the town’s Public Works Department to cut a 230-foot-long trail on town property to the stream bank at the Forest Avenue and Central Street intersection.
The idea: open the stream to canoe, kayak and paddleboarders later this spring.
“I am right off Central Street, so I get the bulk of the traffic that goes through town. If I can get people on the stream it will draw more attention to it and I think it will be good for the town,” Michaud said Friday.
A council vote wasn’t necessary, councilors said.
About 10 miles long, the stream runs through town between Stacyville Road west of town to the West Branch of the Penobscot River. Years of its use as a dumping ground have left it underutilized even though it is much cleaner now that many of its industrial neighbors, including a local paper mill, are gone or no longer allowed to pollute the river, Michaud said.
“It’s a good stream,” the 51-year-old Michaud said. “It is 100 times better now than it was when I was a kid. Trout are living in it now, which is a huge improvement.”
The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is among several organizations that list the stream as a good fishing area or good place to kayak or canoe. The state website lists it as stocked year-round with brook trout.
Michaud, who lives outside of town at Ambajejus Lake, said he hopes to get the trail built and open as soon as possible.
Besides helping his business, the trail will allow Michaud to organize races on the stream that can draw people to town. It will also add to Millinocket’s quality of life, Michaud said.
He suspects that the town will fence and padlock the trail and establish regular trail-use hours once he gets permits from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and other agencies, Michaud said.
Councilors praised Michaud for his initiative, which is among several volunteer efforts by town residents eager to develop the town’s commercial possibilities. Efforts have included plans to revitalize a town park, build community gardens, raise funding for high school sports programs and clean up areas of downtown.
“I had a lot of interest in this from people last year,” Michaud said. “I think this could really work out well.”