Touring the golden road

[Parker]

Im headed up to the golden road to see some maine sugaring,,any suggestions on people with info,,places to see and stay would be great, also might be going thru the jackman moosehead area,,all suggestions would be great, Parker

[PerryFamily]

That sounds like fun! Lots of big operations up there

[n8hutch]

There is at least 4 or 5 Sugaring Opperations on the St. A Auirele rd which run parallel to the Golden rd just a little more North 30 miles maybe, I think the best way to get up there is via the 490rd then the Braliey Brook rd, I would avoid the Ragamuff rd unless it is still frozen up in good shape. Most of the sugar houses tend to be closer to the Maine Canadian border.

As far as where to stay if you go via Jackman I would probably say Bishops motel is your best bet, or maybe long pond camps if you don't mind something more rustic.

If you want to spend more than 1 day in the North Maine Woods I Guess Pittston Farms, Chesuncook lake house, or Loon Lodge would be nice, I would think Pittston Farms would be closer to the Sugaring Opperations. I generally make a spring Fishing trip and a fall hunting trips every year I love the "Big Woods" of Maine.

We Camp out or stay at a friend's camp on Hurd Pond. I've always wanted to be up there during a sap run.

[bees1st]

If you head to the western end of the Golden Road check out Dole Pond Maple he does have a sign out . Heckofa nice guy. Make sure to give logging trucks the right of way !

[Atgreene]

If you stop at Maine Maple Products in Madison, Eric might be able to set you up with the Larivierres (sp?) That own Maine Maple. I've talked to them and they were open to letting me tour if I was up that way.

[Revi]

The best way to see the Lariviere's (Maine Maple Products) is to go across the border past Jackman, and then to St. Zacharie, then go in through the St. Aurelie gate. Talk to Eric Ellis at Maine Maple Products on the way up just past Skowhegan on 201. He can contact them. There are a lot of really nice ones up there. Check out Claude Rodrique's right before the border on the left. It has a really cool cemetery right behind it. It's a really scenic sugarhouse for a big operation. There are a lot of them up there.

http://www.mainemaple.com

http://www.arnoldfarm.com

[eustis22]

Someone wants to be paid not to log his sugarbush:

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fmainepublic.org%2Fpost%2Fmaines-largest-maple-sugar-bush-danger-or-owner-getting-sweet-deal%23stream%2F0&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGFuTwwOpBTAhLZPsHiUwVF5pNPhA

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

Talk about subsidizing maple production!

[gmcooper]

Someone wants to be paid not to log his sugarbush:

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fmainepublic.org%2Fpost%2Fmaines-largest-maple-sugar-bush-danger-or-owner-getting-sweet-deal%23stream%2F0&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGFuTwwOpBTAhLZPsHiUwVF5pNPhA

The story is not quite right. The new land owner of Big Six township does not make syrup but there are something like 420,000 taps on it that are leased to 6-8 sugarmakers. The sugarbushes are mostly old growth that have been tapped maybe 100 years. The land owner has been threatening to cut all the maples to make payments on the land. He is a very shrewed businessman. He owns about 25% of taps in Maine on this property. There is a lot more to the real story.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Good luck making the payments with pulp wood.....

[BAP]

The story is not quite right. The new land owner of Big Six township does not make syrup but there are something like 420,000 taps on it that are leased to 6-8 sugarmakers. The sugarbushes are mostly old growth that have been tapped maybe 100 years. The land owner has been threatening to cut all the maples to make payments on the land. He is a very shrewed businessman. He owns about 25% of taps in Maine on this property. There is a lot more to the real story.
Chances are he was using the threat to cut all the Maples to get paid not to cut. Most of these investors don't care at all where the money comes from as long as it is in their pockets.

[Bucket Head]

Wow, one guy now owns 25% of the taps in Maine and now he wants a ransom? That's not a very good situation.

I hope this turns out better than the way it appears to be heading.

[mspina14]

If his trees are worth more for lumber than for maple syrup production, he should cut them down and sell them.

By his logic, every maple tree of similar size would be worth more for lumber than for syrup production. So maybe I should contact the government to pay me not to cut down my maple trees.

Seems like an extortion plot to steal money from the government (and a government to which he has make significant campaign contributions, according to the article).

Mark

[VTnewguy]

I like maple as much as the next guy but these seems like it's a sweetheart deal for the Canadians that run the leases. They are close to the border and don't have to abide the quota in the states. With that said if they want to contact me and I will gladly go setup shop up there. lol In my opinion market forces should play out. If the lumber is worth more log it. Seems doubtful if this has been sugared for a long time. If the leases generate enough revenue to pay for the land so be it. Seems wrong to ask taxpayers for money for something like this.

[bees1st]

In the long run it's better to have the leases. You cut the timber and it's not ready to cut for another 40 years or so. What usually happens is it gets cut then put back on the market. And the owner uses the profits to buy the next piece.

[eagle lake sugar]

Most of the woodlands in Maine are owned by timber companies and the roads are only plowed in the areas where they're harvesting. These huge sugar bushes are only accessible to Canadians which seems like a shame to me.

[Mark-NH]

So Maine state generated money to purchase easements on timber land that will benefit one individual significantly and then benefit Canadian producers who compete directly with the Maine maple guys? Maybe I'm missing something here but seems like a ransom that does not benefit the local tax payers.

[gmcooper]

Many of the smaller more southern producers do in fact buy syrup for the bulk producers in that region. We have customers and retail sales and not enough trees. They have trees and good conditions but no customers other than large bulk buyers or the smaller guys in state. Most of the Canadians are members of Maine Maple producers association. They are good people who take pride in making good syrup and do support the maple industry.

There are Maine and US sugarmakers in that area and could be more. There are a few leases available however putting together a 20-50,000 tap operation get expensive there. One lease required proof of financial backing somewhere around $2.5-3,000,000 before being considered for the lease.

[220 maple]

23600 acres! Poor old Paul Fortin. He is to big to fail, We bail out banks that are too big to fail in the US of A. Hey Paul sell a few acres of your 23 thousand, make a payment. I have a soft spot for a guy who can buy 23600 acres in the first place! Wonder what he paid per acre, at 50 dollars an acres that is 1.180000 dollars? Poor Paul?

Mark 220 Maple

[VTnewguy]

Does anyone know what happened to this story? Did the state of Maine end buying the property?

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

No and they never will......

[Revi]

They ended up not buying it. I think it was the right decision. I was okay with it until I found out that he was charging the sugar makers almost double what everyone else was charging per tap. He's a friend of the governor and was trying to make a killing.

[Road's End]

I think they said $1.25 per tap this year? Something like that. Pretty crazy numbers!