Remarks in support of the Katahdin Woods and Waters Access Act
Congressman Golden delivered the following remarks in support of the Katahdin Woods and Waters Access Act during a hearing in the House Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday, February 10, 2026.
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
I want to take a moment to discuss the Katahdin Woods and Waters Access Act, which I’m glad you’ve included in today’s hearing.
For those of you who may not know, Katahdin Woods and Waters is a national monument in my district. It’s about 88,000 acres of rivers, streams, and woods in the region around Mount Katahdin, the tallest mountain in Maine and the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. It draws tens of thousands of visitors each year.
Given the monument’s location in the northern part of the northeasternmost state in the lower 48, nearly all the people coming to visit the monument are coming from the south. The largest communities in the monument’s vicinity — Millinocket and East Millinocket — are also at its southern end, making them a natural gateway to Katahdin Woods and Waters.
The challenge is that while there are roads on a parcel of land connecting these communities to the monument, there is no guarantee for public access. In other words, we have gateway communities with no gateway into the monument.
This bill is a simple, light-handed fix: It authorizes the National Park Service to secure a legal interest over that existing road and public access into the park. I’m glad to report one thing the bill does not do is mandate the federal government to buy any land. It simply allows NPS a seat at the table with local landowners to help secure public access to the monument.
The underlying land is already for sale and we expect the Penobscot Nation, a federally recognized tribe in my district, to purchase it. The Penobscot support this bill, along with local businesses and community groups, nearby town governments, and many others. It would complement the existing private-sector investment in Katahdin Woods and Waters, which already far outweigh any direct federal appropriation for its management and maintenance.
The goal is a system of shared management and partnership that keeps the land in private hands, while creating certainty for a broad range of stakeholders. That includes people looking to pass through into the monument. It also includes hunters, fishermen, foragers, and other sportsmen, as well as loggers and others in the timber economy.
Depending on where you’re from, this kind of arrangement may seem unusual, but in my district it is the norm. Private landowners all over Maine routinely make their land accessible for recreation and the natural resources economy. This bill simply gives the NPS the ability to participate in those arrangements and secure public access to Katahdin Woods and Waters.
This bill is a carefully crafted solution, with an appropriately limited federal role, relying on the kind of practical local partnerships that my constituents understand. It is a light-touch approach to supporting communities in my district, in a way that makes sense for Maine.
Thank you again, Mr. Chairman, for including this bill today. I look forward to advancing it out of our committee.
