Outdoors
The BDN outdoors section brings readers into the woods, waters and wild places of Maine. It features stories on hunting, fishing, wildlife, conservation and recreation, told by people who live these experiences. This section emphasizes hands-on knowledge, field reports, issues, trends and the traditions that define life outside in Maine. Read more Outdoors stories here.
Maine’s only inventoried roadless area could lose its federal protections under a proposal from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the public has until Sept. 21 to weigh in.
The roughly 6,000-acre tract is part of the White Mountain National Forest in western Maine, surrounding the Caribou-Speckled Wilderness.
Adopted in 2001, the Roadless Area Conservation Rule generally prohibits new road construction and limits certain timber harvesting within designated areas.
On Aug. 20, the USDA proposed rescinding the regulation nationwide, potentially affecting more than 44 million acres of National Forest System land across 37 states.
The proposal would not automatically authorize roads or logging in Maine. Instead, individual national forests would have greater flexibility to manage these lands under existing forest plans and environmental laws.
The USDA says the change would give local forest managers more flexibility to address wildfire risk, forest health and other local needs. Conservation groups have warned that eliminating the restrictions could make road construction and timber harvesting easier in places that currently lack roads.
The Maine tract remains open to traditional recreational activities, including hunting, fishing, hiking and camping.
Public comments are due by midnight Sept. 21. Comments can be submitted through Regulations.gov using docket number FS-2025-0001.