To the Editor:
I was disturbed to read in The Lincoln County News the details of the Wiscasset Airport Master Plan under consideration by the Wiscasset’s Board of Selectmen.
Acceptance of this plan will do irreparable harm to Chewonki Campground, one of the natural jewels of our region as well as a beloved, affordable, family-oriented tourist venue for more than 50 years.
Under the proposed master plan, 23 of Chewonki’s 47 camping sites will be decimated. Forty-five acres of beautiful old shade trees will be felled in order to satisfy “forecasts of aviation needs.” In the meantime, a 25 minute drive to the south , the much larger Brunswick Executive Airport is open for business and eager for increased air traffic.
Pam Brackett and Ann Beck, the hardworking sisters who own and run Chewonki Campground, inherited it upon the deaths of their parents in 1969; Pam was 18 and Ann 16. They have operated the business ever since, with guidance in the early days from Dave and Mullie Soule, Roy and Joanne Farmer, Sam and Louise Soule, and other members of the Wiscasset community.
Today Chewonki Campground hosts 10,000 guests per year, with as many as 200 campers on the grounds on a summer weekend. They hale from the New England States, New Jersey, and New York. Campers eat in local restaurants, frequent Wiscasset’s shops, and buy gas and groceries in town, for an estimated contribution to the local economy of $2 million per season.
Visitors return summer after summer because the campground offers a special experience in an era of chain hotels: a pristine setting, a family-friendly environment, and on-site, hands-on owners who remember everyone’s name.
I don’t believe Chewonki Campground could survive the impact of the proposed airport expansion. There are FAA alternatives to the current master plan. I hope citizens of Wiscasset will attend the next selectmen’s meeting and urge the board to reject the proposed plan and consider workable alternatives, so that Chewonki Campground can continue for another 50 years as a unique scenic and economic asset.
