Wassataquoik Sanctuary and Valley Sanctuary

    Orin Falls on the Wassataquoik Stream, Wassataquoik Sanctuary, T4R8 WELS, Maine.

Check out our other Properties:

Big Wilson-Seven Ponds Sanctuary

Three Rivers Sanctuary and Lunksoos Sanctuary

East Branch Sanctuary

Kineo Sanctuary

Sandy Stream Sanctuary

Deasey Ponds Sanctuary and Mud Brook Sanctuary

Bluffer Sanctuary

Wassataquoik Sanctuary and Valley Sanctuary

Wassataquoik Sanctuary (12,030 acres) and Valley Sanctuary (8,911 acres) together encompass the valley of Wassataquoik Stream just to the east of Baxter State Park, located in T4R8 and T3R8 WELS, Maine. Wassataquoik Stream, a major tributary of the East Branch of the Penobscot, is recognized as one of the state’s outstanding wild rivers, ranked as having “greater than statewide or national significance” in the 1982 Maine Rivers Study. The Maine State Legislature included it among Maine’s outstanding river and stream segments meriting special protection. The purpose of the sanctuaries is to protect this wild valley and its native plants and animals, and to ensure continued public access for low-impact recreational and educational use. The sanctuaries comprise:

• A 9-mile stretch of rapids along Wassataquoik Stream including Orin Falls, and nearly 2-miles of frontage on the Penobscot East Branch;
• The high energy watercourse of Katahdin Brook, outlet of Katahdin Lake and Rocky Pond;
• An exemplary wetland complex associated with Robar Pond and Robar Brook, surrounded by older coniferous forest with rock outcrops and scattered glacial boulders;
• Numerous other brooks, beaver wetlands, fens, floodplains, and several small ponds (the named ones are Robar, Little Robar, and Little Hathorn);
• The summits of Hathorn Mountain (1,500 ft), Little Spring Brook Mountain (1,160 ft), Barnard Mountain (1,621 ft), and several other unnamed high points, providing spectacular views of Katahdin to the west;
• Older hardwood and mixed forest occupying a large roadless area west of Robar Brook stretching to the Baxter State Park boundary;
• Remnants of historic 19^th century Katahdin ascent routes from Hunt Farm and the East Branch used by such notable visitors as Edward Everett Hale, William Frances Channing, the Reverend Marcus Keep, state geologist Charles Hitchcock, Theodore Roosevelt, and many others.
• Traces of the old Wassataquoik tote road, impoundment dams, logging camps, and other trails dating from the heyday of logging in the Wassataquoik valley during the 19^th century.
• The remains of one of the earliest fish hatcheries on the Penobscot in Maine (1903), located near the confluence of Little Spring Brook and the East Branch;

As a matter of policy, most roads in the sanctuaries are closed to public motor vehicle use, including off road vehicles, snowmobiles, and ATVs. Since the properties are managed as wildlife preserves, public access is not permitted for hunting or trapping. The sanctuaries are open, as are all the EPI sanctuaries, for non-motorized use (hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, fishing, etc.). These polices are similar to those in effect in the adjacent Baxter State Park.

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Links of Interest:        >>Forest Society of Maine        >>International Appalachian Trail             >>Forest Ecology Network        >>Environmental News

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