But Quimby's purchase of 77-acres of land on Mount Kineo from developer Chip Foster two weeks ago raised more than a few eyebrows in the Moosehead Lake region.

Foster said earlier that it was his understanding that Quimby was going to donate the land to RESTORE, and cited the property's value as a potential "gateway" to a national park.

Quimby said, however, that her membership on RESTORE's board of directors is not directly related to the purchase of the Mount Kineo acreage, but just one of several steps she's taken to acquire land in the state. "I have three goals for these land purchases: traditional, recreational and environmental," Quimby explained during a visit to the Moosehead Messenger.

Quimby said that she's been concerned about what she calls "the threat of fragmentation" in the North Woods as the major paper companies are selling off land to private individuals. "While once you were dealing with six or seven corporations, now you may be dealing with dozens of new landowners. You don't know what they intend to do with the land until its too late," said Quimby.

Greenville Town Manager John Simko, one of the founders of the Maine Woods Coalition, said Friday that the purchase "doesn't really raise a red flag with us. She bought 77 acres, so that leaves about 3.2 million acres in the North Woods intact."

Some of the goals of the Maine Woods Coalition are to preserve a "working forest" in the North Woods and oppose any efforts to turn any part of it into a national park.

Simko noted that Maine's four-member Congressional delegation is now unanimously opposed to a national park in the state "and even a feasibility study for one. Also, the Maine Legislature sent a resolution to Congress asking them not to fund a feasibility study for a national park."

So what does Quimby plan to do with the land? "I'd like to keep it mostly as it is with open access, and I've placed a deed restriction of the property so that my heirs or future owners can't just divide it up into a development," she explained.

Ironically, the land was once zoned for 12 house lots, but Foster said that he was frustrated dealing with the Land Use Regulation Commission so he dropped the plans.

"I think this is great news for the people in the Moosehead Lake Region," said Jym St. Pierre, the executive director of RESTORE. "What people value about Mount Kineo is the human and natural history of it. Now, you can hike up the mountain and see a clear, undeveloped area. Roxanne simply wants to keep it that way."

While the Mount Kineo acreage is the most recent purchase by Quimby, it's by no means the largest or most valuable transaction.

Quimby has taken some of the profits from Burt's Bees, now located in Raleigh, N.C., and either bought major tracts of land herself or contributed to organizations dedicated to preserving the North Woods.

She owns about 10,000 acres herself, including 2,300 in Elliotsville Plantation near Monson. She also has a deal pending to acquire 285 acres near Little Greenwood Pond, and also has land near Bluffer Pond in Township 8 Range 11. "We also have tenants leasing land for their camp at Bluffer Pond, and we don't intend to displace them," Quimby added.

Last fall, Quimby pledged $2 million to the Maine chapter of The Nature Conservancy to help preserve 185,000 acres of remote Maine forest with 40 miles on the Upper St. John River. It was believed to be the largest tract of land ever purchased for conservation in the northeastern United States.

Quimby said that although she has been at Mount Kineo several times, she climbed the mountain for the first time on June 19. "It was breathtaking," she noted, "and I want to keep it that way." The entrepreneur lived in Parkman for 20 years, and founded Burt's Bees with former photo journalist Burt Shavitz. The couple started with retail sales of honey and branched out into personal care items made with natural ingredients. Quimby and Shavitz dissolved their partnership, and she moved the operation to North Carolina in 1994 after taking over as president.

But Quimby still has her roots planted in Maine, and currently lives in the Winter Harbor. "I keep in touch by e mail and fly down there only when I have to," she explained.

Does she foresee a national park in Maine? "I can't say. But I do know that the economics of the area have changed dramatically. Remember, there was a lot of opposition to Gov. Percival Baxter's plans to open his park. And look what we have today," Quimby said.
"This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the Moosehead Messenger and is used here with permission."