STACYVILLE, Maine — With Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument staff furloughed because of the federal shutdown, supporters of the national space are concerned about adequate staffing and protection of the monument’s resources.
Without the superintendent and other permanent staff, there is only one law enforcement ranger working fulltime to patrol nearly 90,000 acres, said Brian Hinrichs, executive director of Friends of Katahdin Woods & Waters.
Additionally, important research and other building projects are at a standstill, he said Thursday.
Similar to Acadia National Park and other national parks and monuments, Katahdin Woods & Waters buildings are closed, furloughed staff are not getting paychecks, and visitors are on their own, with the exception of a skeletal maintenance crew checking on bathrooms.
The roads and trails remain open until next week.
Friends of Katahdin Woods & Waters financially supported the opening of the elaborate Tekαkαpimək Contact Station on Lookout Mountain and, since it was taken over this year by the National Park Service, has still been fielding smaller NPS funding requests.
But they want to emphasize how critical it is that the federal government take responsibility for its federal employees and private support is not a long term solution, Hinrichs said.
“We don’t want to be in a position to be constantly plugging holes in federal staffing,” he said.
Tekαkαpimək, filled with indigenous artistry and artifacts, would have closed on Oct. 1 at the beginning of the shutdown, but a donation for staffing by the Friends of Katahdin Woods & Waters to the Department of the Interior National Park Service kept it open until Oct. 13.
Nonetheless, Hinrich’s said it is not the role of the Friends group to financially solve this problem.
Tekαkαpimək lies at the southeastern corner of Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument’s 87,563 acres within the homeland of the Penobscot Nation and is made up of 13 parcels donated by Elliotsville Plantation Inc. and Roxanne Quimby, founder of Burt’s Bees. President Barack Obama designated Katahdin Woods & Waters a national monument in 2016.
The Elliotsville Foundation, the National Park Service, and representatives of the independent Native Nations that constitute the Wabanaki Confederacy — Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Mi’kmaq Nation, Passamaquoddy Tribe at Motahkomikuk and Sipayik, and Penobscot Nation — worked to build the center, Hinrichs said.
Leading up to the center are walking trails through the woods with stone pathways. Inside, Wabanaki artisans created handcrafted floor tiles, wall carvings and woven ceilings. There are interpretative stations and educational videos. The entire space is open and features views of Mt. Katahdin.
But until the government reopens, visitors will not get to see its artistry.
According to the NPS, trails, overlooks and roads at all national parks would remain open with federal buildings closed during the shutdown. But a donation by The Friends of Katahdin Woods & Waters made it possible for park service staff to open the buildings through those first two fall weekends.
The shutdown has exacerbated a 10-month decline in NPS staff, separate from the shutdown, according to Hinrichs.
The NPS lost 24 percent of its permanent staff across the country this year, according to the National Parks Conservation Association.
“This statistic and trend mirrors what we have seen at Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument,” Hinrichs said. “This is technically a separate issue, but the shutdown puts staffing at an even greater risk as employees go without pay and may be forced to think of alternative pathways in the future.”
According to Hinrichs, the NPS indicated that more than 4,000 people visited Tekαkαpimək through the summer season, although they will not have the final count for some time from the park service. Also, traffic on Swift Brook Road, leading to the station, was up 30 percent, he said.
Going forward, if there is an emergency maintenance issue and there is no staffing to take care of it, the Friends group will make sure the building is safely maintained, Hinrichs said.
“This is all to say: there is real momentum at the monument, and it is a shame the shutdown has dampened that at the end of the fall season,” Hinrichs said.
