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Memorandum of
Agreement
Between
Maine Department
of Conservation
And the
United States
Department of the Interior
WHEREAS, the National Park Service and Maine Department of Conservation share the mutual goal of preserving the significant natural and cultural resource values and wilderness recreation experience that continue to make the Allagash Wilderness Waterway a resource of exceptional value to the citizens of Maine and the United States; and
WHEREAS, the State of Maine, through the Department of Conservation, has the management authority and responsibility for the Allagash Wilderness Waterway under the State statutes governing the Waterway, primarily 12 MRSA Section 1871 et seq., and as a state-managed “wild” component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers system under Section 2(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act; and
WHEREAS, the National Park Service has found that the Department of Conservation’s management of the Waterway has achieved substantial success in ensuring that the vast majority of the Waterway experience is intact, and in many instances enhanced, by thirty years of Waterway management; and
WHEREAS, the National Park Service has authority and responsibility to administer Section 7 of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to ensure compatibility of “federally assisted” water resource development projects on the Allagash Wilderness Waterway and other Wild and Scenic Rivers; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Conservation reconstructed the Churchill Dam on the Allagash in 1997 without obtaining a permit from the US Army Corps of Engineers, which in turn necessitates, for permit approval, the review and consent of the National Park Service for projects affecting designated Wild and Scenic Rivers such as the Allagash;
Now, therefore, in consideration of the foregoing and the mutual covenants
contained herein, the parties agree as follows:
A. This agreement is entered into by and between the National Park Service (NPS) and the Maine Department of Conservation (DOC) to resolve all matters pertaining to the NPS’ review of the Churchill Dam project on the Allagash Wilderness Waterway (US Army Corps of Engineers file number 200002730).
C. This agreement re-affirms the parties’ continued understanding that the State of Maine has the responsibility and authority to manage and administer the Allagash Wilderness Waterway as a “wild” component of the Wild and Scenic River System in accordance with the State statutes governing the Allagash Wilderness Waterway and does not represent an expansion of NPS authority under state or federal laws.
DOC will complete the following actions within two years of the date the Corps issues a permit to the department for Churchill Dam:
1. Plant and revegetate the riprap abutments of Churchill Dam to encourage the continued growth of natural, non-woody vegetation, in a manner that does not compromise the integrity and operation of the dam.
2. Relocate the visitors’ vehicle parking area from near Churchill Dam to an upland location not visible from the river, the dam, and their immediate environs. The site of the current parking lot will be restored to a naturally vegetated condition, leaving in place a travel surface for future access to the boarding house and the campsite accessible for persons with disabilities.
3. Plant additional vegetation (and/or allow existing vegetation to grow and mature) as necessary to create a more natural setting for the river users as they launch, portage, and visit in the vicinity of the river, dam, boarding house, and barn (a view through trees of and from the Ranger cabin is allowed).
4. Lengthen the distance of the pedestrian trail at the former site of Bissonnette Bridge so that motor vehicles are kept a minimum of 400 feet from the shore. The department’s project design will not result in a request to fill wetlands or the watercourse if at all possible. The department will promote conversion to a trail by prohibiting vehicle access, and with landowner permission, blocking the privately-owned road.
5.
Any
development of the access at the proposed Churchill Lake canoe access site,
T9R12 (aka John’s Bridge) will include redesigning this project to make the
road to the parking area, the parking area, and all associated infrastructure
entirely outside the Restricted Zone with only a foot trail from the parking
area to the high water mark. The department’s
project design will not result in a request to fill wetlands or the watercourse
if at all possible. Only if landowner approval for the parking lot is not
available, may the Department locate the parking area and associated
infrastructure at the outer edge of the Restricted Zone, still leaving only a
foot trail from the parking area to the high water mark. This redesign is
subject to all applicable permit requirements.
Non-motorized, wheeled devices to assist in moving canoes and dunnage
from the parking lot to the water are acceptable.
1. Historical Resources. The DOC will develop and carry out a program of historical resource identification, planning and preservation with a target completion date of five years from the date the Corps issues a permit to the DOC for Churchill Dam.
Activities taken under this section of the agreement shall be implemented through a process that provides for public comment and full involvement from the Allagash Waterway Advisory Council, landowners, NPS, and interested groups.
The DOC will use its regular appropriations for this program in consideration with its other program priorities, and if necessary seek funds from grants and outside sources. The DOC will pursue additional appropriated funds if needed to complete the program and will continue to make the program a priority until it is completed. Pursuing additional funding is considered to be a good faith effort to complete the program in compliance with this agreement.
a. The DOC will prepare or contract for the preparation of:
1. Historic Resource Study for the Allagash Wilderness Waterway that will: establish historical contexts for logging and outdoor recreation along the Waterway, identify property types and individual properties associated with these contexts establish character-defining features of Allagash structures, and nominate selected properties for listing on the National Register of Historic Places
2. Historic Structure Report for the boarding house at Churchill Depot
b. Documentation, to standards established by the Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record (HABS/HAER), of the Eagle Lake Tramway and Eagle Lake and West Branch Railroad. This documentation will include the remnants of these two log transportation methods, as well as the larger context of the various water control structures (dams and the Telos Cut) that facilitated the transportation of logs to mills throughout the history of lumbering in the Allagash.
The historic resource study, historic structure report, and documentation as described above shall be prepared in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Archaeology and Historic Preservation.
c. Along with the activities above describing historical resources, DOC will continue with its program of identifying and preserving prehistoric sites and artifacts.
2. Review of 1999 Allagash Wilderness Waterway Plan. Within two years of the date the Corps issues a permit to the DOC for Churchill Dam, the department will review its 1999 Management Plan according to the following provisions and understandings:
a. Background. The parties recognize and agree that the 1999 Management Plan is generally consistent with the preservation of outstanding resource values under the state Allagash statute and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (WSRA).
b. Review Process. The review process will produce recommendations to the DOC for
revisions to the 1999 Management Plan.
The parties agree to explore conducting the review through a neutral
facilitator. The review shall be
conducted through a process that provides for public comment and full
involvement from the Allagash Waterway Advisory Council, landowners, NPS, and
interested groups. Before beginning the
review, a proposal for the review process will be made in consultation with the
Allagash Waterway Advisory Council.
c. Purposes. The purposes of the review are to:
1. Develop recommendations for additions to the 1999 Management Plan on how the WSRA and federal guidelines on WSRA rivers should be interpreted and applied to the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, specifically dams, bridges, and buildings and the type of and number of access points, with the understanding that a number of vehicle access points will remain and that access in some areas of the waterway will be less than 500 feet.
2. Make recommendations to incorporate the intent of the federal “wild” river designation into the 1999 Management Plan.
3. Consider the use of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway by Maine citizens when examining the relationship between the state Allagash statute and the WSRA.
A. NPS Planning/Policy Assistance
The NPS will assist the DOC to review draft documents and attend meetings, in implementing this agreement.
Once signed by both parties, this agreement will constitute the basis of the NPS’ final Section 7 determination for Churchill Dam. The NPS will notify the Corps in writing of the acceptance of this Memo of Agreement and its approval of the issuance of the Corps 404 permit based on the mitigation measures contained in this Agreement.
1. US Army Corps of Engineers 404 Permit. The parties agree that implementation of the measures specified in this agreement satisfy the mitigation that NPS is requiring related to issuance of a Corps of Engineers permit for construction of the Churchill Dam project. The parties agree that the provisions of this agreement will be completed if the Corp issues a 404 permit for which the DOC has applied (Churchill Dam, its canoe landing, and associated infrastructure at the site). This agreement is null and void if the Corps does not issue the permit for which the DOC has applied.
2. Terms of this agreement are enforceable only by the parties hereto and, once incorporated into the Corps permit, also by the Corps of Engineers.
The parties hereby execute this agreement by their duly authorized representatives’ signatures on the dates indicated below.
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
By _________________________________ Date _________________
Marie Rust, Regional Director
National Park Service, Northest Region
STATE OF MAINE, DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION
By _________________________________ Date _________________
Ronald B. Lovaglio, Commissioner
Maine Department of Conservation