Flagstaff Region - Management Plan

The Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands has developed a 15-year management plan for approximately 54,000 acres of lands known as the Flagstaff Region. The Plan was adopted in June 2007. The region roughly encompasses the area north of Farmington to the Canadian border, and east of the Rangeley Lakes Region to the Kennebec River Valley. The plan guides management activities by the Bureau on public lands at the Bigelow Preserve and Flagstaff Lake, Mount Abraham, Chain of Ponds, and several smaller Public Lots.

The Bureau began the process of developing a Management Plan for the 2013 Crocker Mountain acquisition, abutting the Bigelow Preserve, in the summer of 2014. The Plan was adopted and amended to the Flagstaff Region Plan in April 2015. The Final Flagstaff Region and Crocker Mountain Plans and Appendices are provided for download below.

The Integrated Resource Policy (IRP) requires that the Bureau, at five year intervals, report to the Advisory Committee on accomplishments and changing conditions that may warrant amendments to the plan. Both five-year reviews were completed and resulted in amendments to the Plan. The Final Reports are available below, under Management Plan Review Documents.

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2024 Plan Review and Update

The Bureau has begun the review and update of the 2007 Plan. The process will result in a new plan document that incorporates all past amendments and any changes that result from the current public process. It will also address the ~9,284 acres of new public lands in the region acquired in 2023-24.

A primary means to conduct the Plan Review is the review table:

Lists plan recommendations (left column), and
Actions taken (right column) to implement each recommendation; and
Identifies from the Bureau's perspective any new issues or circumstances that were not addressed in the plan that may warrant Committee discussion or action (at end of table).

The Bureau identified three new issues that are not addressed in the current plan: (1) management of the newly acquired lands, (2) a Bureau proposal to expand the Bigelow Ecological Reserve, and (3) a club proposal to establish a new section of snowmobile trail crossing the Stoney Brook area of the Crocker Mountain Unit.

The review table was sent to Advisory Committee members on July 3, 2024, along with a map of the newly acquired lands and information on the Ecological Reserve and snowmobile trail proposals. All are available below under Management Plan Review Documents.

The Bureau asked Advisory Committee members for comments on the review table and to identify any other new issues or circumstances that may require Committee input or action. Written comments were accepted for three weeks following the distribution of the review materials. An Advisory Committee meeting will be held during the summer of 2024. Discussion will focus on the Ecological Reserve and snowmobile trail proposals and development of the plan for the new parcels. The public is welcome to attend. The meeting date/time and location will be posted below.

A public meeting will be held to present and take comments on the updated management plan, once a draft of the plan has been completed.

Management Plan Review Documents

Past Reviews:

2024 Review and Update:

Crocker Mountain Management Plan Documents

Crocker Mountain Unit Management Plan - Adopted April, 2015 (PDF 1.93MB)

Appendices - Crocker Mountain Unit Management Plan - Adopted April, 2015 (PDF 2.9MB)