The Allagash Alliance Group

History Page

On this page you will find the Allagash Alliance History, and other historical information regarding the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, as well as regional facts and information pertaining to the Waterway. Please click on the PDF Icons below to read the articles.

Talking Points about the Allagash Wilderness Waterway:

Common Misconceptions about the Waterway:
**compiled by Dean Bennett, 2001

Highway Access Doctument:

The following section is devoted to the Allagash Alliance Group History

In 1967, the State of Maine and U.S. National Park Service made a commitment to all U.S. citizens to preserve the Allagash as a place where one could experience a multi-day canoe trip through a relatively remote region of the northern forest. While all recognized that a true wilderness in 20th century Maine was no longer practical, the intent was to provide a" wilderness-like" experience amidst the hustle and bustle of our "modern" life. While given a wilderness waterway designation, the State-Federal agreement acknowledged the rich logging history of the waterway. The AWW was intended to be and is a unique preservation of a blend of wild natural and cultural human features.

In 1995, reflecting over a recent trip to the Allagash, Dave and Gretchen Hubley and Terry Harper sat around a kitchen table commiserating on the condition of this beautiful river that the nation had promised to preserve almost 30 years earlier. A preliminary concept plan was drafted in 1973 but never completed. Yet here it was, 20 years later, the AWW sliding backward and nobody seemed to care. Churchill Dam was nearing collapse jeopardizing the continued existence of the now naturalized Churchill Lake, campsites were literally and figuratively, eroding, and within the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, the AWW was to become just another park within the BPL. Something needed to be done. It appeared that this unique waterway and experience was threatened by benign neglect.

What to do? Not ones to merely lament and wring hands, this small group of people responded by making telephone calls and sending letters to a small group of Mainers who had demonstrated their love for the AWW. The Allagash Alliance Group was formed. Realizing that the State was over extended, the first step of the AAG was to reach out to the BPL and offer assistance. Members of the newly formed AAG met with BPL officials offering support and volunteer assistance. The AAG's first project began in 1996, to preserve the cultural history of the area by stabilizing the locomotives of Eagle Lake. Righting the locomotives took AAG members three years, 150 yards of crushed rock hauled in 5-gallon buckets, and hundreds of hours of manal labor. Today, the locomotives stand as icons of a gone-by era of Maine's lumber baron days.

Soon, it became regrettably clear that the Bureau's vision for the waterway and that of the original State-federal agreement were diametrically opposed. Where the original agreement clearly talked about limiting motorized access, the Bureau was proposing additional motorized access, most notably at John's Bridge. Johns Bridge, then, became the symptomatic and a symbol of a serious schism between the Bureau and the AAG. Again, someone needed to take action to prevent further erosion of the AWW agreement. The AAG called for support from people all over the country. Indeed, the AWW is a national treasure. As a result, a coalition of conservation organizations, called the Citizens to Protect the Allagash, legally challenged the BPLs policies. As a last resort, court and legislative battles ensued. Many portrayed this as a north-south issue whereby southern Mainers were denying access to northern Mainers. Others accused the AAG as being anti-working forest. Nothing could have been or is further from the truth. The AAG has consistently supported traditional use, hunting, fishing, and sustainable forestry. But the AAG simply does not accept additional new bridges, new boat launches, and new roads to improve motorized access as" traditional." Although the Johns Bridge controversy has waned as a result of the River Driver's Agreement , the job to protect the AWW is far from complete. As population pressure works its way north, as the working forest is being displaced by second and third homes and recreationalist pressure, new threats emerge. The AWW cultural heritage and artifacts realize more exposure to vandalism. Importation of invasive species such as Muskelunge at base of Allagash Falls threaten to destroy the Allagash's notorious wild brook trout fishery. Hunting and fishing pressure exceed the capacity of the resource to produce trophy catches. And an incremental increase of motorized access competes with multi-day canoe trippers.

While there are many opportunities for easy motorized access in Maine, there is only one AWW. The AAG is a conservation organization dedicated to protecting the AWW as it is defined in law for all Mainers for generations to come.