Events & News
Abigail Andreasen, Jim Rea, and Charlene Daniels.
1988 to 2018: 30 Years of Service by the Campsite Reservation System
Think back to 1988, if you can, and return to the days of:
- The Commodore 64 (64 for KB of RAM) home computer that sold for $595 in 1982 now had competition from PCs by IBM, Tandy/Radio Shack; plus Atari and Apple.
- Floppy disks... remember those?
- Dot Matrix printers that cost $189.
- Smith Corona electronic typewriters with automatic spelling correction; sold for $259.
- BASIC (Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) was still the predominant computer program language. (First developed in 1964 at Dartmouth College, N.H. by Kemeny & Kurtz.)
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How it all began…
Maine’s State Park Campsite Reservation System was established in June, 1987 through a law enacted by the 113th Legislature. The program was viewed as an important service to campers who, by making a reservation, could be assured a campsite. It was also seen as facilitating and promoting State Park use by providing a service that campers had come to expect in other states, national parks, and private campgrounds.
A custom-designed database was developed in-house, by Jim Rea (pictured above), following extensive research into the components of similar programs nationwide. Jim came to the project with a graduate degree from U-Maine, Orono and ten years of computer technology experience working on forest inventories. The original system was a Burroughs data management system. "It was a very big CPU with a green screen," reminisced Jim.
On January 1, 1988, Bureau staff began accepting campground reservations. On opening day the reservations came in by phone and through long walk-in lines at the Augusta office. Each reservation was recorded on paper, then later input into the computer, then printed out by park and mailed to each location for the camper check-ins. Reservations were taken fourteen days in advance back then so the paperwork could get to the parks before the campers arrived.
The system was popular and convenient with State Park campers and has continued to grow in use each season.
- In that first 1988 season, 4,133 reservations were processed (for the entire season).
- Now, with 24-7 real-time online reservations, and increased customer-service improvements, staff can process over 17,000 reservations per season, generating $1,538,840 in revenue.
Maine State Parks and the Campground Reservations Office are in the hospitality business. The success of the program is due to the friendly, knowledgeable staff who provide high levels of customer service. Pictured above are Abigail Andreasen, who answers the campground reservations line during her "off" season and works at Popham Beach State Park during the summer season; Jim Rea, who was indispensable in developing the early system and its upgrades and currently supports the campsite photos on Google Earth feature; and Charlene Daniels, who manages the Maine State Park Campsite Reservation System and park pass sales, and has been serving the public in this position for twenty-three years.
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 The Boating Facilities Fund is a state grant program administered by the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Bureau of Parks and Lands and authorized by the state legislature to fund grants-in-aid to political subdivisions and others for the acquisition, development, or renovation of public recreational boating facilities.
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Ride right, ride safe and keep a lookout for trail groomers.
The snowmobile season is still in full swing despite some warm weather.
- Riders have 14,000 miles of snowmobile trails to venture from York County to Washington and Aroostook County.
- Thousands of volunteers are out grooming and maintaining trails for everyone to enjoy.
- The weather has been somewhat unpredictable, however these dedicated club members have taken advantage when the conditions are right to offer the best opportunity to get outside and see the winter wonderland.
- Be aware of the groomers out taking care of trails.
- Ride safe and within your ability.
Respect Private Landowners - Their Generosity is the Heart of the Trail System
Never take advantage of the generosity of the private landowners who allow the clubs to have trails on their property.
- 95% of the snowmobile trails are on private land, so stay on marked trails and respect the land you are on.
- Club volunteers work hard to keep trails for us to use, don’t ruin it with disrespect and going where you are not supposed to be.
The best time of the season for snowmobiling is here. So get out there, Ride Right and Ride Safe.
Thank you,
The Snowmobile Program Staff
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The Down East Sunrise Trail (DEST) is closed until May 15 or further notice for mud season to all uses.
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 The Bureau continues its work with the Weyerhaeuser Company and regional partners to develop non-motorized trails located on donated trail easements.
Photo is the view from a vista on the newly constructed Mt. Williams Trail.
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 With new finds of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis, ever closer to Maine’s borders (in both New
Hampshire and Québec), monitoring continues to be very important. Success in
slowing the spread and managing impacts will hinge on early detection and
response. The Maine Forest Service (MFS) and partners use several methods to
monitor for emerald ash borer including trapping, visual surveys, trap trees, biosurveillance, outreach and education, and
follow-up on reports from the public. The effectiveness of these detection
efforts depends heavily on cooperative support and involvement from you.
Help us look for this pest.
- Although the highest risk for
introduction of EAB is close to current infestations, all of Maine is
vulnerable to introductions due to the insect’s ability to spread in infested
firewood.
- Winter is an excellent time of year to be on the lookout for
EAB-infested trees.
- Look for ash with "blonding" due to woodpecker
activity. These trees may be host to EAB. For more information about blonding,
follow the top link for "Blonding on ash" from this website: http://nhbugs.org/emerald-ash-borer.
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To report suspected EAB damage and for more information please
visit: www.maine.gov/eab.
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Photos from Bradbury Mt. State Park's winter event held on 2/24.
Winter Fun at Bradbury Mt. State Park
- 680 people came out to enjoy an incredibly warm winter day at Bradbury Mountain’s winter festival this last Saturday, 2/24.
- Fat Bikes, provided free to test out by L.L. Bean were very popular. The dozen bikes were out on the trails non-stop.
- Sit skis and other adaptive equipment were demonstrated by Brandon Merry and available for tryout, provided by Maine Adaptive.
- The Maine State Parks ski & snowshoe trailer continuously handed out free loaner equipment to visitors use on the park trails.
- Lily the goat, and her human family, hiked to the summit and mentioned that Lily has trekked the mountain numerous times!
- Two food vendors dished up hot treats: Mashed in Maine provided hot mashed potatoes with choice of scrumptious toppings, and The Marshmallow Cart made the campfire favorite – s’mores!
Smokey Bear was at the event to remind people that spring wildfire season is coming soon and that people should be careful with all outdoor fires, and posed for photos with children and adults alike!
Most of Maine lake ice conditions are on track to be ice-free on dates comparable to previous years. The recent warm snap, if it continues, could bring earlier than usual ice out conditions.
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Feathers over Freeport 2018 - Hold the Date!
- Saturday, April 28, 2018 - the events will be at Bradbury State Park.
- Sunday, April 29, 2018 - the events will be at Wolfe's Neck Woods State Park.
- Check for updates at: www.maine.gov/dacf/feathersoverfreeport
Photo is from 2013 presentation by Wind Over Wings. Hope with Golden Eagle.
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Range Pond State Park
Lily Bay State Park
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For
more information about Maine State Parks visit us at: www.parksandlands.com or view our Year at a Glance of Park Events Calendar
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