If you've read the author's note in Massacre Pond, you know that the controversy over whether the federal government should create a national park in the Maine North Woods is a real one.
The area around Grand Lake Stream (i.e. my fictional Moosehorn National Park) has been conserved by the Downeast Lakes Land Trust. But the fate of the region between the East Branch of the Penobscot River and the Quebec border remains a subject of heated debate.
Maine Public Radio's "Maine Calling" recently tackled the subject. Here's the program.
Ever since Massacre Pond came out, people have asked me my opinion on the matter. My answer has been the same: you should read the novel. Not being a politician, I am under no obligation to give yes or no answers to anyone who demands me to take a partisan stance for his or her own political purposes.
But if it helps, I subscribe to Andre Gide's observation: "“The color of truth is grey.”