Proposed National Park Is Multimillion-Dollar Gift Wrapped In Distrust

"EAST MILLINOCKET, Maine —The nearly 88,000 acres were meant to be a gift, donated along with a $40 million endowment so that part of Maine’s pristine North Woods might be protected forever as a national park.

But it’s not easy to give away a national park; Roxanne Quimby, the wealthy, polarizing co-founder of Burt’s Bees, has been trying for more than a decade. Her effort has bitterly divided this corner of New England, where shuttered paper mills have led to crippling unemployment and a shrinking population, and where distrust of the federal government runs as deep as the rivers and streams.

'We don’t need you here!' one man at a packed public meeting last week shouted at National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis."

Brady Dennis reports for the Washington Post May 22, 2016.

SEE ALSO:

"Primed To Fight The Government" (Washington Post)

"Let’s Not Give Away America’s Natural Treasures" (Wilderness Society/Medium)

"Sheriff Warns Protected Land Proposal Could Spark Standoff" (AP)

"In Big Sky Country, Land Rights Are A Major Issue For Montana Ranchers" (NPR)

"Lawmakers Hear Perspectives On Potential Owyhee Monument" (Oregon Public Broadcasting)