In a refreshing change from business as usual, there's a growing groundswell of citizen support for a new national park to be anchored in the north woods of Maine.

This is refreshing because oftentimes it seems that a member of Congress, responding to a relatively small constituency, introduces legislation to add a unit to the National Park System. Well, the folks behind the movement to "Restore the North Woods" of Maine have taken to Facebook to drive a petition for the envisioned national park. Before they forward the petition to Congress, they hope to have millions of signatures from across the country.

If created as envisioned the proposed "Maine North Woods National Park" would be bigger than Yellowstone National Park, and just smaller than Death Valley National Park, at 3.2 million acres.

The Maine Woods wilderness of the mid-1800s made such a deep impression on Henry David Thoreau that he envisioned it becoming a “national preserve.” Today, thanks to a unique convergence of events, we have a second chance to realize Thoreau’s vision by creating a new Maine Woods National Park and Preserve.

Although the primeval forest has been diminished by a century of logging and is threatened by development through massive land sales, the 10-million acre heart of the Maine Woods still survives as the greatest undeveloped region east of the Rockies. If the people of Maine and America act soon, we can restore this magnificent landscape to health and build a sustainable way of life for the people of this region.

The proposed park, which would envelop the Moosehead-Katahdin region of Maine, would "restore native wildlife and ecosystems, protect the headwaters of Maine’s major rivers, provide wilderness recreation on an Alaskan scale, diversify the boom-and-bust local economy, shift control from corporations back to the public," say those behind the movement.

The area would be rife with recreational opportunities, from paddling mazes of lakes and rivers to climbing mountains, fishing, hiking, and backcountry skiing. Hunting also would be allowed in portions, under the proposal. Protected by this suggested park would be moose, bear, lynx, possibly wolves, and even fisheries important to Atlantic salmon.

Part of the concern of those pushing for the national park is that the Plum Creek Timber Company envisions sprawling developments of second homes in the region that would be devastating to the natural environment in the Moosehead Lake region.

As for the petition, the language is quite simple and to the point:

The U.S. Congress authorize the National Park Service to conduct a study of the feasibility of creating a new National Park & Preserve in the Moosehead-Katahdin region of Maine. This study should assess the feasibility of creating a park and preserve, consider a range of alternative actions, be conducted in cooperation with other government agencies, and ensure broad public participation.

At last check there were 1,751 signatures on the petition. Why don't you drop by the site and add your name?