Following the Golden Road
by Mary Douglass

It may not be paved—and certainly not with golden pavers—but the "golden road" exists, even so. I know. I’ve been on it. Following the NAMSC/IMSI Conference, Greg and I took advantage of an optional tour to several large commercial sugaring operations in northern Maine.

The trip was not for the faint-hearted. Nearly all of the northern half of Maine is privately owned by logging companies. There are literally no homes, no cities, no public roads. Just a huge expanse of forest connected by private gravel roads used for the express purpose of removing timber and pulp. One of the roads has been named "the golden road". Knowing the area has never been settled, I guess I expected to see huge, dense forest. I was surprised. The forest was quite young and not as varied as I expected, due to large areas that had been re-planted pine. We were told Maine is in its fourth clear-cutting; once by ax, once by saw, once by chain-saw, and now by machine. The area was beautiful-rolling hills with many streams and lakes surrounded by forests. We even caught sight of a few moose. Travel time from Portland was about six hours by bus, with the majority of time spent on the private gravel roads of the timber companies. Entrance to the area is guarded and closely monitored. And you can be sure the logging trucks have the right-of-way! We stayed at a lodge, originally built as a logging camp, but now used as a hunting lodge. It was remote and 'rustic', sleeping over 100 people-mainly bunk room style-but surrounded by wonderful natural beauty, an interesting history and they sure put a spread on the table! The trip all by itself was an adventure!

Due to the sheer size of the area, you can guess that only a small area is being cleared at a time. For decades the timber companies have allowed sugar- makers to come into certain areas that are heavily forested with maple (and close enough access to 'civilization'). Taps are rented out in the 25 cent per tap range. While these operations have been historically fairly large, recent improvements in technology (R.O.'s and add-on units) and a strong demand for maple syrup has encouraged even greater production in these areas. We visited sugar bushes as small as 12,000 taps and as large as 70,000. Most were in the 30,000 to 40,000 range.

The operations themselves are what you might expect. The facilities varied from old rustic sugar houses to large modern pole barns. All had R.O.'s and most had the largest in efficient equipment, including high efficiency arches, add-on units, sap releasers, filter presses, etc. We saw few things that were new to us in terms of equipment or procedures, but the sheer size of the operations was fascinating. Ever see 3-inch main line in Michigan? Storage tanks were huge and we saw stacks and stacks of storage barrels. Virtually all the syrup produced there is sold in bulk.

Probably the most interesting practice we saw was in the tubing operations. We did not see one spile that had been pulled from last season-we saw bushes totaling over 200,000 taps and every spile remained in the tree. The huge numbers of taps make it too costly to walk the woods after the season. Instead, they drill a new hole the following season, pull the old spile and insert it into the new hole. One swift operation. Seems unthinkable to most of us. Yet, the quality of syrup made in this area is very high. Shows you the importance of timely processing and clean, efficient equipment, I guess!

For these operations to make sense financially, they have to get maximum return for their labor. Remember, they have huge capitol outlay and sell all of their syrup in bulk prices. Also, these camps are far from home. The cost of drilling wells, putting up buildings, etc. etc. must be done for their sugaring operations, separate from their farms or home-and miles into the wilderness! Everything must be trucked in. The other major difference between our operations and theirs is that they do not own one tree or acre of land. The trees are slated to be clear-cut and are not particularly large, hardy trees. In general, there is much less concern for tree health. And un-pulled taps put the healing process behind a full year, but is of little consequence to them.

The rental agreements are also quite fragile. There is little control over the long-term use of these sugarbushes. Recent changes in land ownership has limited their ability to expand. And despite many of them being there for decades, they are always at the mercy of the logging companies. Any year could be their last. Makes an interesting climate for sugaring!

While all these operations had the newest and latest in equipment, it was very encouraging to see that the traditions and love of the industry flourish there, too. One family has been producing at their camp for over 100 years and clearly enjoyed and thrived on the traditions of sugaring and the gathering of family and friends. All but one sugarbush we visited were run by sugarmakers living over the border in Quebec. Like the others, one of the younger families makes it a family affair, living at their "camp" for three months in late winter/early spring. But they have the additional burden of making a 20 mile commute to Quebec each day delivering and retrieving kids from school. Another older gentleman treated us with his traditional camp entertainment, music from his squeezebox. Despite their large size and commercial nature, I can assure you these people produce maple syrup for the same reason we do-they love the industry and are proud of the product they make. We were greeted everywhere with open arms and treated to entertainment and food. The fact that we spoke different languages was irrelevant-we shared the pride and tradition and love of our industry.