FARMINGTON — The state is seeking public input on a plan to provide resource protection and management guidance for Tumbledown Public Lands and Mt. Blue State Park over the next 15 years.

The Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands will launch the public process with a meeting at 6 p.m. Jan. 28 at the Olson Student Center, Dining Hall A, at the University of Maine at Farmington.

The bureau has begun work on the first management plan for Tumbledown Public Lands, which includes Tumbledown Mountain, in Township 6 North of Weld, Phillips and Weld, and Mt. Blue State Park in Weld, Avon and Temple.

The bureau’s  properties for these two entities cover nearly 19,000 acres. Conservation easements on more than 10,000 acres of working forest abutting these lands will also be included in the plan.

Mt. Blue State Park is Maine’s largest state park, encompassing about 8,000 acres in two sections separated by Webb Lake, according to a bureau’ guide and map. The park offers a campground, a view of Mt. Blue, trails, hiking, fishing bird-watching and more. Tumbledown Public Lands is adjacent to the state park and is more than 22,000 acres both state-owned and state-held easements. Tumbledown Mountain offers hiking trails and a pond near the summit. It also offers many outdoor activities, according to the guide.

An advisory committee has been formed for the Tumbledown/Mt. Blue Plan. It is made up of a “diverse set of individuals that add to the bureau’s understanding of the subject public lands on topics such as its resources, the people who use it, the management issues, and the interests of various recreational and other groups,” according to a news release.

Comments from other members of the public will also be taken into consideration.

The bureau plans to work with the advisory panel to develop a draft plan. There will be a three-week comment period before a final draft of the plan is developed. Once that is done, following committee review and comment, a second public meeting will be held to present the plan and receive comment.

The final draft plan is anticipated to be ready in late fall or early winter. For more information contact Jim Vogel, senior planner at Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands at 207-287-2163.

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