Former Heads of Acadia National Park Support A Park In The Northern Maine Woods

BANGOR, Maine (AP) — Two former Acadia National Park superintendents and two former presidents of Friends of Acadia are throwing their support behind a proposal for a new national park in the Katahdin region.

Former superintendents Sheridan Steele and Paul Haertel, and Ken Olson and Marla O'Byrne say minority factions also fought Acadia, Baxter, the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, the Bigelow Preserve, and Moosehorn National Wildlife refuge. But they say all of those are now revered by Mainers.

They also say scientific polls indicate a strong majority of Mainers support a national park adjacent to the existing Baxter State Park.

Burt's Bees founder and conservationist Roxanne Quimby proposed donating land for the park in 2011. Her son, Lucas St. Clair, hopes to win support next year — on the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service.