New initiative lets every St. John Valley 8th grader participate in Allagash canoe expedition

Beginning next year, a new outdoor education initiative will allow every 8th grade student in the St. John Valley to participate in a three-night canoe expedition on the Allagash Wilderness Waterway.

Dan Dinsmore, executive director of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway Foundation, said the annual Youth on the Allagash program will cost roughly $75,000 and will be funded by his organization.

"The effort here is to not do this once, but to do this in a sustained way and bake the Youth on the Allagash into the school calendar for all three of these schools," he said.

The Allagash, which is part of the National Wild and Scenic River system, extends 92 miles between Aroostook and Piscataquis counties.

Dinsmore said the idea is to give students a transformational outdoor experience right in t