PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 25, 2023
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has paused its plan to designate part of the High Peaks region in western Maine as a national wildlife refuge, after hearing from concerned local residents and some of Maine’s federal lawmakers who have argued that the region is already well managed locally. The federal government had been considering making between 5,000 and 15,000 acres in the High Peaks into a refuge since the spring. In August, U.S. Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins and Rep. Jared Golden sent a letter to the Fish and Wildlife Service outlining their concerns about the plan for the refuge, citing local opposition.