Drummond Woodsum Clients Partner to Bring St. John Valley Students onto the Allagash

Drummond Woodsum is pleased to recognize an exciting, expanded initiative that will provide nearly 100 eighth-grade students from the St. John Valley with the opportunity to explore Maine’s renowned Allagash Wilderness Waterway each year. The Allagash Wilderness Waterway stretches 92 miles through the ancestral lands of the Wabanaki people, a region rich in natural and cultural history. A decade ago, the Allagash Wilderness Waterway Foundation (AWWF) launched the Youth on the Allagash initiative after recognizing that many local youths had lost connection to this extraordinary place located in their own backyard. Since 2016, AWWF has offered fully-funded multi-day wilderness trips to students in Grades 7–9 from the St. John Valley’s gateway communities, as well as to youth from immigrant, BIPOC, and underserved communities throughout Maine.

As part of the program’s upcoming 10-year anniversary, AWWF will expand this initiative so that beginning in 2026, every 8th grader from Fort Kent (MSAD 27), St. Agatha/Frenchville (MSAD 33), and Madawaska will have the opportunity to experience the Allagash. Students will learn canoeing and camping skills, practice leave-no-trace principles, and engage with the ecological, cultural, and historical significance of the Waterway, while developing leadership and stewardship skills.

The effort is guided by AWWF, where Drummond Woodsum attorney Aga Dixon serves on the Board of Directors and has been involved since the initiative’s inception, helping conceptualize the idea and guide its implementation for many years. The wilderness expeditions will continue to be led by professional guides from Chewonki, a valued firm client known for its century-long commitment to outdoor education.

Drummond Woodsum is proud to support this remarkable collaboration among five of our clients, including through annual financial contributions to AWWF. We congratulate the AWWF, Chewonki, and the participating school districts for their leadership in expanding outdoor education opportunities for St. John Valley youth.

To learn more about this initiative, please visit:  https://www.awwf.org/projects-programs/youth-on-the-allagash/