EAST MILLINOCKET, Maine — One of the larger unions at the new Great Northern Paper Co. mill has joined the group of forest products industry members opposing environmentalist Roxanne Quimby’s proposed 70,000-acre national park.
Stu Kallgren of Enfield, a pulper-operator at the mill, said he and other United Steelworkers Local 37 members voted during a recent meeting to make public their opposition to the park idea.
“We want to contact our [local state] representatives and let them know, and we want the public and Legislature to know, that we are not on board with a national park. We want to maintain a healthy forest industry. We want to stand on that,” Kallgren said recently. “I don’t believe the national park will create the paying jobs and benefits that they [park supporters] are promoting.”
Quimby, who owns about 59,000 acres in or near the Katahdin region, proposes to give to the park service 70,000 acres adjacent to Baxter State Park in 2016. She is pressing Secretary of the Interior Kenneth Salazar to authorize a feasibility study of the proposed park area.
Quimby reiterated her support for her idea in a statement released by a spokeswoman.
“The proposed Maine Woods National Park enjoys the support of many people who work, or have worked, in the mill and more than 40 businesses in the Katahdin Region,” she said in the statement. “At minimum, we believe that if we are going to leave something better for our children and grandchildren, it is important to get the facts on whether a national park would help build a stronger, more diversified economy. We think that the facts will demonstrate that a national park and the traditional manufacturing can co-exist and help the region create new jobs and thrive.”
More than 16 business, civic and environmental groups have expressed their support of a study, while a group led by a state senator from Cape Elizabeth has supported a park. An independent survey of about 600 Maine residents conducted by a Portland firm in October indicated 60 percent approval of a park. Medway’s town government is the sole governmental body to support a study.
Great Northern Paper and several civic, sportsmen’s and forest products industry groups have opposed a study and the park, as have the state’s two Republican U.S. senators; U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, D-East Millinocket; the Maine Legislature; Gov. Paul LePage; and the people or governments of East Millinocket and Millinocket.
Kallgren said his group will investigate whether Quimby’s land receives tree-growth tax benefits typically given to forest products industry wood suppliers. He said he believes that because her trees are not forested, she should not receive such benefits.
Go for it Stu! If she is getting a tax break get your friend Herb Clark to look into it!
and we will all see how long the mills stay open.
When Medway has a “real” vote, it will show they are against it too. While you’re leaving a comment here please take the time to sign our petition against the park. Thanks.
http://preservemainetraditions.com/sign-petition/
Just signed it.Thanks
Well now this is a real conundrum. The conservatives who post on here have been getting crucified by the moonbats because of the anti-park stance, and now we have a liberal organized labor group come out against it as well. I’m confused by this lack of unity.
I still find it hard to believe anyone would come from 1000 miles away to drive around a bunch of old logging roads to look at clear cuts? National Parks have amazing sights to see, canyons, glaciers, geyser. Maine has Acadia. I Just find it so difficult to understand what the “big” draw would be to get people to drive all the way up 95 to see ? what explain that to me, what is the big draw that is going to bring all these people with all the $$$$ to Northern Maine. Keep it the way it used to be , open to hunting, fishing, sledding etc. That seemed to work for folks. Can’t even use for that anymore.
You are spot on. The pro-park people talk about hundreds of thousands of people this place will attract and yet Baxter State Park only attracts about 60,000 a year and it has far more to offer than this land.
If this park is so popular why is everyone except Libs coming out against it. Why it is a money loser and a job killer. It would be the end of the Katahdin region. Another way of cleaning out what population is left up their. Only Libs such as Chellie Pingree , State Rep. Cynthia Dill, Cowboy Kenny Salazar from the Nobama administration is trying to ram this park down our throats. Cowboy Kenny claims it will be like the parks out in his home state of Colorado that it will draw 300,000+ visitors a year. The fact the parks he mentions near where he lives in Colorado barely draw 10,000 people a year. So why waste our money on this foolishness. When you give Extremist like Quimby an inch they will want more.
who cares?
If the Millinocket mill reopens, then I might care what they think….
The forest products industry is dying a slow death for one reason…unions. They simply would rather have no jobs than jobs with salaries competative in a world economy.
What about the owners that don’t have a clue how to run the mill ?
One more thing why the post office is in the hole is because of the United States Government not the union,, on there rules they have set for the postoffice by the government
Unions = Fraternities. Let’s all be stupid together.
Where I work its union.I dont have a choice I cant think of anything they have done to benefit us since I got there. But they always have their hand out to collect.One thing I do know is they make sure they are in the drivers seat and they dont want any backseat drivers .My opinion is they are a useless legalized extortionist group
Well, let’s see you live on an average Chinese or Filipino workers salary, $5 /day and a bowl of rice w/ fish head. Being competative in the world economy is a race to the bottom.
There was only one body of elected officals that endorsed the feasibility study; It wasn’t mentioned in the article but was reported earlier in the BDN that the vote in Medway was being challenged. It seems that the meeting was stacked with park supporters and that the whole thing was staged and orchestrated to attempt to make it appear that there was local support. Quimby needs local support and hasn’t gotten it, so she tried to get it her way. This should blow up in her face when a fair vote is held in Medway, if it isn’t already warranted based on the fact that that vote is being challenged.
When tactics such as these are being used to get around requirements, I think the smell is evident to everyone.
Ya think…..
Aaaah Yup
BUT, but, but…….Cynthia Dill thinks it’s a good idea, and she’s a lawyer.
Aren’t lawyers smart??
There’s an exception for every rule…..
smahtah than you…
mmmmmm no
What happens when lefty’s square off ? Who would the winner be in that circle J ?
Well of course the union had to vote against supporting a park study. They hung the president of the company last month for his open minded statements. If these boys want to keep their jobs (for as long as they last, that is), they better go along with the party line or else!
And I oppose spending any more taxpayer money to prop up Great Northern Paper (or whatever the current name of the place is). Between dump purchases, corporate tax incentives, unemployment payments, Mainecare for the unemployed and job retraining, it would be cheaper for us to just put the un-needed factory workers on the public dole and have them stay at home. It’s time for Millinocket to find new purpose and become self-sufficient.
Kind of like Old Town and the money being wasted there on that mill?
So you support the Federal Gov. spending taxpayer money on a National Park. I wonder if Bangor will receive some state money for the auditorium?
I absolutely do support the Federal Government spending money on a National Park, because I believe that it is about the only way that the Katahdin area will ever become able to support itself.
Are you suggesting that an industry that is weather dependent can be self sufficient for a region? Seriously? That’s not even close to logical. How well would Your National Park be doing this winter? I suspect that these “self sufficient” employed people would be struggling, just like they do in other regions that rely on “tourism”. It is, and always will be (in Maine) a seasonal and unpredictable source of income.
No wonder the Federal Gov. is in such a mess.
But do you support a park? and if you do why? what good will it do us,will it have REAL jobs and how many? will the PEOPLE of Maine benifit and not The goverment
Let’s do a study and find out…..
No, lets not. Instead, research the requirements to qualify as a potential national park.
The problem with people who think like you is that you don’t see working in the tourism industry as having a ‘real’ job. I’d rather see you work at a hotel then be unemployed. When that happens, then my tax money is able to go toward helping the ‘truly needy’ instead of helping unemployed papermill workers cover their snowmobile payments. This is a way for that to happen.
And I oppose the people of the Katahdin Region spending their money in Bangor. Use Lincoln, Brewer and Houlton first.
Sounds good. Of course, if the mills can’t stay open, it’s actually not their money that they are spending, but that’s beside the point (or is it?).
You are soooo hypocritical.
Being from Bangor you must be on bath salts
We think that the facts will demonstrate that a national park and the traditional manufacturing can co-exist and help the region create new jobs and thrive.”
If she really believes the two can co-exist prove it to the people of this area. Stop blocking access, manage the forest with proper harvesting, promote traditional uses and if you like Maine so well “Stop trying to change the way WE(most Mainers raised in the Katahdin area) we have lived our whole lifes”
We are not afraid of change, we fear out of staters trying to change the way we live. People come to this area for the way of life we live. We should be promoting Baxter Park thats the true gem.
The land does not qualify to become a national park. The best that could be expected by the advocates is a national forest.
You are an expert, right?
If you researched the criteria needed to be met to qualify as a potential National Park, you too could become an expert.
well, nobody actually wants to work to find out that information. They would rather rely on rumuor and innuendo…
John, you seem to have hit the nail on the head.
~”Nobody wants to work to find out that information”~ THAT is the problem.
Those of us who HAVE done our due diligence understand the implications of a National Park in the Katahdin Region.
Instead of sitting in Scarborough making quiche and criticizing the people you grew up with, why don’t YOU do some research!
Exactly! It’s not hard to find the real facts with a little digging….
Their are plenty of facts out there on National Parks, one just have to look them up.
Baxter Park is the REAL target for these people.
They know that the trusts set up by Baxter in response to the feds thirst for The Mountain cannot be revoked
Gov. Baxter didn’t trust the feds when he saw what was done in order to create Acadia, and that is why he set up his legacy as a park for all MAINE people.
(No matter what Buzz and Tim say.)
why dont we just tax her land same as we do my little plot? she would probably go away then
as soon as the revenue department starts applying the tree-growth exemption appropriately to all the owners of kingdom lots who take one or two acres out of tree growth for their “camp” and leave the rest of their 500-plus acres in the exemption with no intention to ever harvest anything.
Oh, wait, never mind, those guys are friends with the politicians, so that makes it OK.
Go Medway sign the petition. Though non-binding, wonder what the officials will say.
They can not co-exist in a Federal Park the size of RESTORE’s thinking. This 59,000 acres is just a start, contrary to what others say.
What now Roxanne..?
More lies-
More threats-
More blackmail-
More name calling-
Guess what,,, “the people” have spoken, we dont want your Liberal La-La Land, or a study done by those that will guarantee a park…!
Go Away….
Quimby 2014!
The old girl cant win the hearts and minds of a small town, she would get eaten alive in an election…
Believe me, I agree. But, watch her at least have a big part of the campaign of whomever she chooses to endorse, if not run herself. Maybe Cynthia Dill could play the part of a younger Libby Mitchell?
Wow, news flash! Paper mill workers support any perceived threats to the status quo, whether real or not. Well, duuhh!
Absolutely no surprise there. A predictable message of defiance from the heart of the industrial Alamo of “Ktadn”. I wonder what Henry Thoreau would think of the quadruped ostriches that have evolved in his beloved north country. I’m thinking not much.
Henry Thoreau was no more from the beloved north country then you are !!
….
Who cares. Thoreau was just another summer complaint from away. He didn’t need to make a living here.
Such a thinker! What a wonderful comment. Don’t forget how much the Katahdin area love & admire you! You are just soooooo smart..
Time for Quimby to patch the holes she has made and move on.
Keep it a one horse town,you stupid hicks
Under her photo there is a link to ‘buy’ her photo???? I guess that’s the mind of someone in love with money and the power and influence it yields huh?
I’ve heard it will keep pigeons away from your dormers.
your not suppose to look directly at the picture; it will give you nightmares
Where is the North Woods? What area(s) are they writing about?
All of it!
http://preservemainetraditions.com/sign-petition/ …For anyone that dont want the park and real facts !!
Iv’e lived in Millinocket , nice people. I believe they have a history although not talked about much…about Fly-poles. Old timers that made a pretty decent stick…..My point is the region has a lot to offer. Not anywhere the hyperbole Roxxie wants..but I feel the town does need to diversify. Oh is it still free Beer tomorrow at the Ox ?
The issue is that GNPaper is too dirty an operation to be a good neighbor.
The problem is that GNPaper is too dirty an operation to be a good neighbor.
A region cannot sustain itself on a tourism industry that is weather dependent. Diversifying an economy in the region is necessary and important. Doing so under the guise that a National Park will fix the economy of the region is negligent and short sighted. How well would a potential National Park be doing this winter? Marketing the region to attract cutting edge industry meanwhile promoting tourism in the region at the same time makes economic sense. Cramming a national park plan and its subsequent red tape and restrictions down the throats of people in the region does not make sense.
Like the old time “Millerites” who gathered on the mountain tops to proclaim the end of the world; this fervent convocation of company unions, fin and featherites, addled snowmobilers and the hoplessly embittered now proclaim an N.P. is the end of everything. Unparalelled B. S. then and unparalelled B. S. now.
Lets see, Great Northern has gone from 4000 employees to 250. Excellent provider of jobs. Their wage scale is the lowest in the country, around $16/hours. I think we should hang our hat with them.
There are plenty of jobs in Bar Harbor and the average wage is equivalent to GP. That area continue to prosper. Let just continue to ask the state for $ to bail out the region and do nothing to help ourselves.
Bar Harbor is currently shuttered for the winter. Have a look at the help wanted ads in the MD Islander lately? Seasonal jobs do not pay what you think they do, nor do they provide benefits. Hence the sea of imported immigrants to BH in the summertime to fill those seasonal jobs and then send their money overseas.
“4000 employees to 250”,,,, more like 5000 plus, and the more than 250 direct jobs that generate even more outside support jobs, that will increase in time…. but lets just chuck all of that because of some aging overweight millionaire that is on some self immortalization quest, that will only produce a dozen seasonal part -time minimum wage jobs…..
Please leave Maine..Please…you arnt well liked here Roxanne Quimby
Maybe the mint should put a subsidized paper mill on the back of the Maine quarter. “In TP We Trust.”
The Study has not been done yet.
An opinion based on chit-chat?
Here we go again. How many times do we have to tell RQ that a National Park is not the answer. Every National Park we have in this country is bleeding red ink. Why would we want another one? She’d be better off to donate the land to the State of Maine as part of Baxter State Park. Then maybe the people of Maine would have access to Maine Public Reserve Land that she has blocked.
When ever Union and Management come together and agree on something, what ever it is should be taken VERY SERIOUSLY ! To date all Quimby has done is make a lot of speeches and issued tons of press releases pushing the benefits. Fine, as far as it goes. But no where has she produced 1 study, independently verifiable, that supports any of her claims. No, she wants the NPS to do that for her. Crap ! If this ‘donation’ is that good a deal then put up the study’s that prove it BEFORE NPS makes theirs. A NPS sponsored study, done before Quimby makes any of her’s public, is nothing more than a waste of gvoernment money so someone can justify some self-fullfilling prophecy or legacy after the fact. In terms we can all apprreciate, like the man form Missouri said “Show Me”. To date all Quimby has shown is a lot of hot air and a dog and pony show for the media and the folks in Medway.
Well said.
In the end, Quimby will go down in history as what not to do in Northern Maine.
Union people had to say this…………. Peter Hansen just said “room in area for both”, and he was let go so what would this company do to blue collar worker. The Union people also know USW Int. Rep would be there to make sure the jobs would be protected. I am not sure which one I trust most, Republician big business men or Democrat International Union Rep.
just not quimby
As a fellow fat, welfare, know-nothing rat about town, I say hurrah for Roxanne for enlightening me to her generous gift of land we will no longer be able to run our ATV’s all over or to steal wood off.
yeah, right