CARIBOU, Maine — Lucas St. Clair, son of environmentalist and entrepreneur Roxanne Quimby, and the man determined to make 150,000 acres of land in the Katahdin region into a national park stopped by NMDC Thursday, April 9, to discuss his park legislation.
St. Clair has made his way through the state and has met with business organizations, interest groups, and outdoor recreation organizations attempting to grab endorsements for his national park proposal.
“We found that every county that had a national park or a national recreation area, the personal income, the employment, and the population was growing faster than the national average,” St. Clair said.
St. Clair discussed the economic impacts that would result from the donation of 110,000 acres of land his family owns and hopes to add an additional 10,000 acres when and if the land becomes available.
The park would be split into two units, a national park similar to Acadia National Park, and a national recreation area, which would allow more flexibility for snowmobiling, ATV usage, hunting, and fishing.
“Having access to great hunting habitat is really important,” St. Clair said.
St. Clair also stressed how important it is the forest product industry remain a part of Penobscot County.
“The towns of Millinocket and East Millinocket wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for paper making. The ability for the forest product industry to diversify and continue on there whatever scale as possible is really important to us,” St. Clair said.
The land St. Clair’s family owns is in unorganized territory, which his family pays taxes on to the county and the state. If the Department of the Interior owns land the pay becomes “payment in lieu of taxes,” which would increase the tax base to the county by $346,000 and an increase to the state by $150,000.
Since St. Clair’s land is a donation there would be no cost in the land acquisition to taxpayers. His family is also donating $40 million to an endowment fund that would go to support the park, which the federal government can’t touch.
“I thought Lucas did a great job explaining where they’re going and what they’d like to accomplish,” NMDC executive director Bob Clark said. “I think more importantly though the event that’s going to be held April 22 in Ashland will have people speaking that aren’t in favor of it. Our board is very interested in hearing that side of the issues as well.”
A meeting to hear more on St. Clair’s plan is scheduled for April 22 at the Ashland District School from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. St. Clair will be on hand as well as a member of the Maine Snowmobile Association.
In order for the legislation to be looked at by lawmakers, St. Clair must first have overwhelming support from Maine residents throughout the surrounding counties. For the land to become a park it has to be a bill and has to pass through Congress and be signed by the president.
“So obviously there’s some very heavy lifting,” St. Clair said.
In other business, Larry Clark, executive director of the Presque Isle Industrial Council, spoke on behalf of Presque Isle business Acme Monaco at NMDC about the company’s upcoming expansion.
Acme Monaco, the largest manufacturer of orthodontic appliances in the world, is looking to pursue grants that will help fund a multi-million-dollar expansion of the company at a new location in the Industrial Park.
“When they started in Presque Isle in ’89 they started at a little over 5,000 square feet with eleven employees,” Clark said. “Fast forward to today they are two buildings in Industrial Park; those two buildings are 11,500 square feet. They have gone from 11 employees to 80.”
The total project cost, when completed, is estimated at $3 million. The company has sought Presque Isle City Council’s support in securing a CDBG grant.
The amount Acme Monaco is applying for through the CDBG grant is all job-related. It allows up to $30,000 per the number of jobs created about $690,000 from the program at the state level. They’re also shooting for two grants at the federal level through the Economic Development Administration for the amount of $1.6 million. There might also be more monies possible through the Northern Regional Border Commission, with which they’ll be submitting an application for up to $300,000.
If the expansion is successful it would create about 23 new jobs. Acme Monaco’s headquarters is in New Britain, Connecticut and they set up shop in Presque Isle in 1989.
