Coinciding with the public launch of a $35 million fundraising campaign for Maine's Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, Wright-Ryan Construction in Portland has been chosen as the construction manager for the Wabanaki-led visitor contact station.
The Wabanaki Confederacy is a North American First Nations and Native American confederation of four principal Eastern Algonquian nations: the Maliseet, Mi'kmaq, Passamaquoddy and Penobscot peoples.
Led by Friends of Katahdin Woods & Waters, the fundraising campaign, called "A Monumental Welcome," has three goals: providing funding for the visitor contact station, priority park projects and Wabanaki-directed projects.
The campaign will fund the Tekαkαpimək Contact Station at Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. Contributions will also support a new 3.6-mi. access road to the site, an eastern lookout, a network of accessible paths and access routes, and modern off-grid sustainability features, Mainebiz reported.
In addition, it will direct $2.7 million in contributions to priority park projects for the National Park Service (NPS). Construction already funded includes a renovation of the Mile 6.4 Loop Road Overlook, a signage plan, night sky programming and road maintenance, among others.
A final goal is to establish a $1 million fund for Wabanaki projects as defined by the Wabanaki Advisory Board. The early vision for this fund is to create career pathways for Wabanaki youth. Final funding decisions will be made by the board.
By late May, $22.8 million had been raised.
"Wright-Ryan has a 40-year history of working closely with community-based organizations throughout the region to assist in producing unique facilities in service to their mission," said company President John Ryan.
Wabanaki Partnering with Foundation to Build Project
Tekαkαpimək translates from the Penobscot language to "as far as one can see" and is pronounced "de gah-gah bee mook."
Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument is within the traditional homeland of the Native American Penobscot Nation. The land and waters hold special significance to the Penobscot people and are inextricably linked with their culture, ceremonies, oral traditions, language, history and indigenous stewardship, continuing the respectful relationship with the land and waterways that has gone back more than 11,000 years.
To the Wabanaki people, Katahdin is a culturally significant place where connecting watersheds provide important travel routes for the four nations that make up the Native American confederacy.
Time-limited "reserved rights" were written into certain deeds of land allowing for Elliotsville Foundation Inc. (EFI) to build a visitor contact station on Lookout Mountain in the monument, Mainebiz reported. The EFI is partnering with the Wabanaki board that has representatives of the independent nations that constitute the Wabanaki Confederacy.
In a news release, the advisory board collectively said it was "mutually committed to fostering a collaborative partnership" with the foundation to create the contact station "while developing a long-term relationship that will carry into the future."
The contact station building is designed to encompass 7,896 sq. ft. on two levels, with a capacity for 242 occupants.
The project minimizes the use of steel and concrete, while maximizing the application of forest products and mass timber, including 165 custom-built structural laminated columns.
Mainebiz added that the center will be designed to operate as a thermal battery off the electrical power grid with mainly passive utilities — including a 36.75-kilowatt remote solar array for electrical service and a propane generator for backup. In addition to shading and ventilation design details, a thermal mass floor system will provide passive heating in cold months in conjunction with a type of passive solar structure called a trombe wall.
Tekαkαpimək Likely to Have a Regional Impact
The Tekαkαpimək Contact Station is expected to contribute to the Katahdin region's burgeoning four-season recreation economy and to support the ongoing revitalization of local communities.
"This campaign provides immediate economic impact, with over 90 percent of construction expenditures here in Maine," said Brian Hinrichs, executive director of Friends of Katahdin Woods and Waters.
Tekαkαpimək will feature artistry and exhibits created by Wabanaki artists and knowledge-keepers.
The Wabanaki Advisory Board collectively spoke to the projects and campaign: "We as a Wabanaki Advisory Board have been mutually committed to fostering a collaborative partnership with the EFI that is needed to create the Tekαkαpimək Contact Station while developing a long-term relationship that will carry into the future."
Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument was created by a proclamation signed by former President Barack Obama on Aug. 24, 2016. The 87,500 acres of land were donated to the United States by Burt's Bees founder Roxanne Quimby to mark the centennial of the National Park Service (NPS).
In 2020, the park was recognized for its dark skies and is the first International Dark Sky Sanctuary on the U.S. eastern seaboard.
Elliotsville Foundation leads the contact station project in consultation with the National Park Service and in close collaboration with the Wabanaki advisory board, Friends of Katahdin Woods & Waters, the National Park Foundation and other stakeholders.
In addition to Wright-Ryan Construction, the project's contractors include Wiphunakson LLC, Saunders Architecture, Alisberg Parker Architects, Atelier One, Haley Ward Inc., Reed Hilderbrand, Transsolar Inc., Allied Engineering Inc., Tuhura Communications, Jennifer Neptune (Penobscot), WeShouldDoItAll, Split Rock Studios, DCL, Emery Lee & Sons Inc., OBP Trailworks LLC, Maine Waterside Trails, Erin Hutton Projects and Stern Consulting International.
Work has already gotten started at the site and the contact station is expected to open by summer 2024.
Today's top stories
