Roxanne Quimby, owner of Burt’s Bees natural products, is buying up land in Maine in the hopes of laying the foundation for a new national park in the state. So far, she has bought 8,000 acres at a cost of $3 million, with the purchase of another 5,700 acres pending, and she has contributed millions more to other land conservation efforts. Quimby is allied with the group Restore: The North Woods, which has proposed a Maine Woods National Park that would be larger than Yellowstone and Yosemite combined. The state legislature has adopted a resolution opposing the park concept, though some polls show that Maine residents support the idea. The timber industry says the park would mean a loss of jobs, while fans of the park say it would boost tourism and the local economy.
