MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • January 15, 2023
Some 40 miles of machine-tracked cross-country ski trails crisscross the vast 10,000-acre swath of multiuse forestland that comprises The Birches Resort, which ranges across the lower half of the unorganized Tomhegan Township from Moosehead Lake west to Brassua Lake and north to Baker Pond. Snowshoers may also share the ski trails or wander at will off-piste. John Willard, an accomplished float plane pilot, forester, outfitter and Master Maine Guide, has owned the place since the 1980s, when he bought the camps from his father, who had owned it since 1969. Willard then acquired the surrounding leased land from Great Northern Paper Company to protect this scenic chunk of the Maine Woods as a nature preserve. ~ Carey Kish