MILLINOCKET (AP) – Those all-nighters required for prime camping reservations at Baxter State Park are going to be a thing of the past – but not before the annual “opening day” ritual is held one last time.

The Baxter State Park Authority voted unanimously during a Friday meeting at the park’s Kidney Pond to implement a new rolling reservation system beginning in January 2005.

Rolling reservations, which are taken over time as opposed to all at once, are just more fair, said Paul Labbe of Scarborough, who led a citizen advisory group that proposed the new system.

In the past, the “opening day” process lured campers to Millinocket days early to be first in line on Jan. 2.

The staggered system will allow reservations to be made in January for the month of May; in February, people could get their June reservations; in March, people could make their July reservations, and so on.

Labbe said the system will be easier for park staff and fairer to people who don’t have time to camp overnight for reservations.

“What I’m hoping is that as people see how this works, they won’t feel the need to run to Millinocket and stand in line that first day to get what they want,” Labbe said.

The authority composed of Attorney General Steven Rowe, Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Commissioner Roland “Dan” Martin and Maine Forest Service Chief Alec Giffen is responsible for all policymaking in Baxter State Park.

For more than a year, park staff has been seeking relief from the overwhelming work of Opening Day. In recent years, four people have been responsible for making thousands of reservations during the first week of January.

“The reservation office has gotten to the point where it’s extremely stressful,” said Park Director Irvin “Buzz” Caverly. “Frankly, I’m surprised we haven’t had a nervous breakdown out there.”

In past years, because they deal with walk-in reservations first, park staff didn’t even get around to opening reservations that come by mail until the third week of January. Under the new system, reservations that are mailed to park headquarters will only be accepted if they arrive within a week of the day that people could walk into the office to make the same reservation.

Finally, telephone reservations will be taken only in the 10 days just before a camping trip, officials said.

While the advisory group discussed giving Mainers or repeat visitors an advantage when seeking reservations, no such provisions were included in the final proposal presented to the authority.

For now, park staff will concentrate on educating the public about the new system. Already, people are wondering if the change will backfire and result in even more people showing up on Jan. 18, 2005, because they don’t understand the new system.

“This is a trial. If it doesn’t work, we’ll probably scrap it and try something new,” Rowe said.

AP-ES-10-18-03 1324EDT

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