Burt's Bees founder denies paddler access

[Michele Jackson]

In the Nov/Dec issue of AW magazine, (page 9), there was an article which started with the following sentence:

"Recent land acquisitions east of Baxter State Park in northern Maine by Burt’s Bees founder Roxanne Quimby have effectively denied paddlers access to a whitewater gem, Wassataquoik Stream."

I can't paste the entire article here but basically that sentence sums it up. Ms Quimby is a now a mega-millionaire who purchased a large tract of land for "conservation purposes." Prior to her acquisition of the property, paddlers had access to the stream.

I have used and enjoyed Burt's Bees products for a number of years, but I would rather not support an individual who does not support paddlers. Hopefully at some point Ms Qimby to reconsider her position.

[waterhog]

BOYCOTT burts bees

[Shep]

I'll check in with my ME connections on this. It may be that there is a lot going on behind the scenes. The article mentions this tangentially, but it may not be obvious to people not familiar with the region. Traveling ANYWHERE in the Northern Maine woods requires using privately-owned (logging) roads, paddling tens to hundreds of miles, or using a float-plane (more than 80% of the land in Maine is privately owned by timber companies). The author does NOT make it clear if Mrs. Quimby has limited the access of everyone, or just paddlers. It is also important to be aware that access to Baxter State Park is already tightly controlled for all users, not just paddlers. It would not surprise me if there is an effort to add this tract of land to Baxter. I believe that water access rights in Maine are similar to rights here in Arkansas and Texas (definition of a navigable stream and rights to use the stream bed for recreation). In other words, if you can paddle in, paddle out, and stay in the stream you are good to go.

Thanks,
Shep

[Shep]

Oh, and the reason Mrs. Quimby has so much cash to throw around is that she sold Burt's Bees to Clorox in 2007.

[justin.payne]

1. I'm with waterhog....boycott!

2. Lets get a navigable stream discussion here, along with the "things arent always as they seem" discussion.....

I'd like to turn the floor over to Gink now.....

[waterhog]

care to tell us where your getin that info shep

[FarPastGone]

This Shep dude sounds like a whitewater hater or a Burt's Bees employee. Just who are you?

- Matt

[Shep]

Sure! The access to the Northern Maine Woods and Baxter State Park (BSP) is a collection of my personal experiences/tidbits over the last two summers working for Maine Outward Bound, and investigating ski-mountaineering trips in BSP. I haven't actually been inside Baxter, but I did one long expedition which traveled the section of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail next to BSP. We did some research on running our expedition down Webster Stream, which goes through BSP, but couldn't make it work, in part, because the camping rules inside BSP are much stricter than the Timber company land surrounding it. Outside of that expedition, I also paddled whitewater on the Upper West Branch of the Penobscot (This is the "Seboomook" section west of BSP), and the Lower W. Branch of the Penobscot where it forms the southern border of BSP.

As far as my statement about tightly-controlled access to BSP, you have to have a permit to even be in the park during the winter, and when the park is open the rest of the year, they have written regulations to be able to close the trails up Katahdin based on the current weather. I'm not saying I'm a fan of any of this, just that things are already a little weird up there, so some local knowledge helps understand the nuances of the situation.

Umm, the info on selling Burt's Bees came from Wikipedia, the Infallible Source of All Universal Truths.

Sheesh people! All I'm saying is it would AT LEAST be nice to know if this lady has cut off access to everyone else, which I suspect she has, before we decide she has a special place of hate in her heart just for whitewater paddlers.

Shep

[Owl]

I hope this doesn't turn into another one of those multi-page topics where everyone gets all preachy, defensive, and sanctimonious.

We need rain BAD!

[ARzach]

I hope this doesn't turn into another one of those multi-page topics where everyone gets all preachy, defensive, and sanctimonious.

How DARE you!?!? I disagree whole-heartedly. I would give you my 3 point synopsis of why I disagree but I'm trying something new Today and actually doing work at work... Personally I only follow the message board for flamey threads though



--Zach

[Zephyr]

I do not think anyone implied that she was just against paddlers. It just happens that since most of us are paddlers, we are one of the groups affected by her decision.

Indeed she has cut off access to others, including hunters, ATVers, and motorcyclists, as well as paddlers. However, with this being a forum for paddlers, I am thinking, just maybe, that is why that is the perspective from which we are looking at the issue? To test that theory I looked at some of the motorcycle forums I visit and sure enough they are discussing the issue from the standpoint of motorcyclists and are not writing a darn thing about paddlers. Based upon the following excerpt from The Portland Press Herald, I am not sure anyone but her knows what this lady plans to do.

Quimby's subdivision plans stun locals
Neighbors say they thought the Burt's Bees founder had conserved her 142-acre parcel in Willimantic long ago.

By Beth Quimby bquimby@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

For the past decade, Roxanne Quimby has been buying up thousands of acres of land in northern Maine with the long-term goal of making it part of a national park.

Conservationist Roxanne Quimby's land partly surrounds Big Greenwood Pond in Willimantic. Her subdivision plan appeared to baffle nearby residents. It has also raised concerns among land conservationists that she might develop some of her other holdings.

Logging is under way on land in Willimantic owned by Roxanne Quimby, who proposes subdividing the 142-acre parcel into lots. She now owns 100,000 acres in the Mount Katahdin region and is still buying.

So it came as a shock to Maine's conservation community, as well as nearby residents, when she filed subdivision plans on 142 acres she owns in Willimantic and started logging the property this fall. The move stunned neighbors in the tiny town in southern Piscataquis County, who said they thought Quimby long ago had protected the parcel, which includes shoreline on Big Greenwood Pond, from development.

Quimby's plan baffled nearby residents familiar with her policy of banning hunting and motorized vehicles on most of her land.

It has also raised concerns that the founder of Burt's Bees, who funneled income from the sale of that business into conservation purchases, might develop some of her other holdings.

"This truly caught us by surprise," said Alan Hutchinson, executive director of the Forest Society of Maine, a statewide forest conservation land trust.

[Shep]

Now that's what I'm talking about. That's real info that explains whats going on in the wider context. If she were considering trying to get the land added to Baxter, it would be a totally different situation. I just didn't think there was much context to the blurb in AW.

Thanks,
Shep

[waterhog]

shep all i wanted to know was how you got the info about her sellin burts bees thanks for that as far her not letting motorcycles atv ect. i dont really care about those so knowing that she dont let anybody else on her land as well as yakers does not change my mind any at all but thanks for the info if she sold it then burts bees is in the clear with me not that i used BB any way PEACE

[Adam Willard]

I bet WalMart is behind all of this cause ive seen Burts Bees on their shelves. Vernon what you think?????

[v rainwater]

Adam, now your just being silly, baaaahhhh.

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