OK, maybe they're no Yellowstones, but plenty of folks would love to see these wild spots designated as the next U.S. national park. Cast your vote for the one you think is the most worthy.
Maine
Maine Woods
 
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West Virginia
Blackwater Canyon
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Arizona
Sonoran Desert
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WHAT'S THERE
Three million acres of forest—complete with a 100-mile section of the AT and the first 50 miles of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway
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WHAT'S THERE
Pristine highlands, a 1,400-foot-deep canyon—and the endangered, truffle-eating northern flying squirrel.
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WHAT'S THERE
Mountains, dunes, and desert—1.6 million acres of it. Plus another four million acres just across the Mexican border. Did somebody say peace park?
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WHO'S FOR
Since 1992, local group Restore the North Woods ( www.restore.org) has been spearheading a plan to prevent exiting forestry companies from parceling off the woods to developers.
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WHO'S FOR
Three years after Allegheny Wood Products bought 3,000 gorge-side acres in 1997, Friends of Blackwater Canyon ( www.saveblackwater.org) formed its pro-park platform.
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WHO'S FOR
Sonoran Desert National Park Friends ( www.sonorandesertnp.org) was formed in 1999. "There's a reason many of the world's religions began in deserts," says co-founder Bill Broyles.
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WHO'S FOE
Locals, wary of the tourist crush in nearby Acadia, seek a combination of wilderness designation and agreements to allow public use of private lands—a mainstay of land use in the Northeast.
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WHO'S FOE
The land's owner—who is still logging the area.
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WHO'S FOE
Every foot of the proposed area is already federally owned, and nary a soul lives on it, so audible opposition is limited. The biggest obstacle? The benjamins—a constant concern for the cash-strapped Park Service.
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Send us your game plan for a current national park. It could be published in an upcoming issue. E-mail us >>
