Mystery fuels unease in Maine woods: Who bought Burnt Jacket Mountain?

"In the wilderness of northern Maine, a long tradition of allowing public access, even on privately owned lands, has shaped the region's culture and identity since the 1800s. So when "No Trespassing" signs showed up around Burnt Jacket Mountain, at the edge of Moosehead Lake, this summer, it did not go unnoticed. Neither did the new surveillance cameras and locked gates in the woods, nor the crews cutting a new road up the mountain who deflected questions from neighbors by citing nondisclosure agreements."

""When we first came here, you could go anywhere, land your kayak anywhere, and you never gave it a thought," said Donald Campbell, a retired New York City teacher who has spent 35 summers in a modest lakeside cabin near Burnt Jacket Mountain. "Now there's hardly a place you can land. There's a feeling of sadness at losing something, a tradition of access, that maybe wasn't written down but was understood.""

A long tradition of allowing public access on privately owned lands in northern Maine has shaped regional culture and identity since the 1800s. This summer, No Trespassing signs appeared around Burnt Jacket Mountain near Moosehead Lake, accompanied by surveillance cameras, locked gates, and crews cutting a new road while citing nondisclosure agreements. The anonymous acquisition and restricted measures stirred unease in Beaver Cove and the wider Moosehead region, where about 100 year-round residents live. Accelerating change from pandemic transplants and wealthier newcomers, rising housing costs, and higher property taxes have deepened concerns about loss of customary access. A terse email to the tourism center intensified community alarm.

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