Drummond Woodsum Leads Negotiations for Katahdin Woods Visitor Center to Open This Summer

Drummond Woodsum’s Corey Hinton, Erick Giles, Daina Nathanson, and Brittany Michaud‘s successful negotiations have paved the way for the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument Welcome Center to open in August 2024.

Our team represented Elliotsville Foundation, Inc (EFI), managing significant legal work in connection with several portions of the overall effort to construct a brand new National Park Service (NPS) “Visitor Contact Station” near the Katahdin Woods and Waters Monument. The design and architecture of the new facility and the surrounding landscape are almost exclusively inspired and designed by Wabanaki artists and advisors.

Our attorneys led the negotiation of agreements between EFI, the Wabanaki Nations, and the National Park Service for the contribution of Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property (ICIP) and real property to the NPS for purposes of siting and developing the facility; developed specialized contract templates and managed the contracting process to facilitate the involvement of dozens of native artists to work on the project’s development, design, and construction process; facilitated the protection of intellectual property associated with the project; and assisted with carbon credit transactions needed to finance the project.

The West Wing of the Wabanaki visitor station, Tekαkαpimək, under construction in February 2023.
(Image credit: Wright-Ryan Construction)