Landowner Profiles

Duke Simoneau

Brooks , ME

Property Statistics:

How much land do you own? > 60 acres

Where is it located? Brooks, where there are some of the largest undeveloped tracts of forest in lower Maine .

Do you live on the property? Yes.

When did you acquire it/how long have you owned it?

Acquired in two pieces, 13 acres in 1991 and the rest in 2000.

What is the breakdown of cover types (forest, meadow, agriculture, wetland)?

The land is on a hill that drops approximately 150 feet. There is about 20 acres of field in two areas, approximately 8 and 12 acres each. The rest is mixed woodlands, very diverse forest.

The State DOT owns the right-of-way for a train track which runs through the property.

Do you post your land? Why/why not?

Part of it because of a bad experience with young ATVers.

Ownership Objectives:

What are your reasons for owning your forest? Your objectives for management?

Preserve the area for others; protect the land from misuse by other potential buyers. The back part of the property was purchased as ‘insulation' to the original parcel, and for the hay field.

Do you have a forest management plan? If so, does it include recreation?

Yes, prepared by a licensed forester. Prior to my ownership, the forest was heavily cut over, so the plan had the intent of correcting the problems caused by poor management in the last ownership. The plan calls for pre-commercial thinning to remove firewood and fir, and leaving large straight oaks.

The plan does include recreation, by providing for a road system, prescribing management for wildlife habitat enhancement and a snowmobile trail.

Recreation:

What types of recreation do you allow on your land?

Hunting, skiing, walkers, fiddleheading, and snowmobiling. I am the assistant trail master for the local snowmobile club, which maintains trail through my property. I allow a few trusted friends to bring their ATVs onto the land, and write them a permission slip so that they have verifiable proof of this entry.

Why do you allow recreation?

If people aren't hurting the forest, then why not? There is a long history of sharing the land in Maine that I'd like to see continued. I'm not using it all, so why wouldn't I share it?

Who recreates on your land? Anyone who wants to.

What problems have you experienced with recreation impacts or recreationists, and how have you worked to solve those problems?

I've had minimal problems. Most people recreating use the land without abuse.

The problems I have had are concerning ATVs running through the hayfield. There was one incident where a large section of hayfield was torn up by ATVs. It was an isolated incident where some younger kids were being irresponsible. I sent the sheriff after them.

As a solution, I built a road for the hay truck, where I put up a gate with a sign that says “NO VEHICLES” and made a solid spot for parking.