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The article informs that Caribou-Speckled Mountain Wilderness Area in White Mountain National Forest is one of only two wilderness areas in Maine. Moose, coyote, black bear, and trout are among the species that depend on this wilderness habitat. Along with the Trust for Public Land, the journal is supporting an effort to improve access to Caribou-Speckled Mountain through a congressional appropriation from the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

The article offers information on Maine's 10-million-acre North Woods, the forest system, stretching from the Downcast coast to the Mahoosuc Range in the western mountains. It is the largest undeveloped forest east of the Mississippi. It supports a diverse economy and a deeply rooted culture, along with a wide variety of native plants and wildlife, including a number of endangered species. The Land for Maine's Future (LMF) program, created in 1987, has enabled Maine to make strategic land investments in order to ensure that the heart of the North Woods will be there for future generations.

The article reports that the private landowner Plum Creek Real Estate has petitioned Maine's Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC) to rezone 408,000 acres so that Plum Creek can remake the Moosehead Lake in Maine. LURC cannot approve the plan unless it determines that the plan would have no adverse effects on the natural resources of the lake.

The article provides information on the wildlife habitat at Robb Reservoir and Willard Pond in southwestern New Hampshire. Congress is expected to appropriate funds this fall to enable acquisition of an easement that will protect important wildlife habitat in this area. The Trust for Public Land and New Hampshire Audubon have been leaders in the multi-year effort to safeguard this particular area, where development pressure is escalating rapidly.

The article informs that a Seattle-based developer is pressing the state's Land Use Regulation Commission to approve a plan that would transform the Moosehead Lake area in Maine. Moosehead and six nearby lakes and ponds would absorb 975 houses, 36 miles of subdivision roads, two golf courses and more. The plan would threaten the region's high water quality, views from the Appalachian Trail, traditional backcountry guiding and wildlife.

The article presents information on a bill introduced by U.S. Representative Michael Michaud and five cosponsors that would give a much needed boost to land conservation, economic development, and community enhancement across the four Northern Forest states. The proposal would create an advisory commission to foster a new level of planning and coordination and would authorize annual funding of $40 million. Increasingly, projects and areas of interest cross state boundaries along with economic activity, tourists, waterways, and wildlife, so greater coordination is needed.

The article reports that thirteen islands along Maine's coast would become wilderness areas under a plan proposed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. They are among 46 islands that span 200 miles and are part of Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge. The main goal is to protect seabird and bald eagle nesting habitat. Petit Manan has a successful seabird restoration initiative that has helped reverse the decline of the puffin population.

The article reports that Teshekpuk Lake, the third-largest in Alaska is a globally significant summer destination for yellow-billed loons, spectacled eiders, tundra swans and a variety of geese. It is located at 150 miles west of the Arctic Refuge. The lake is part of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. In 1998, when the administration opened 87 percent of the 4.6 million-acre northeastern portion to oil and gas development, Teshekpuk and adjoining acreage were put off-limits in deference to the biological and cultural importance of the area. But in the January 2005 the U.S. Bureau of Land Management finalized a plan to open 100 percent of the area to oil and gas leasing. It further reports that there are four million acres of inventoried roadless lands in the 19 national forests of Oregon and Washington. The Wilderness Society is working closely with the U.S. Forest Service to maintain protection for these areas. The Forest Service also wants to reduce roadless totals in eastern Oregon's Malheur, Wallowa-Whitman and Umatilla National Forests.