Our Maine Street's Aroostook Issue 24 : Spring 2015 | Page 52

As I traveled around the state and talked
to people, one thing became clear. Earlier
notions of a 3.2-million acre national
park weren’t feasible. It was outsized for
the region and impractical.
The national park and national recreation
area configuration has the potential to
create between 400 and 1,000 jobs,
breathing new life into a region that
has suffered greatly as the northern
Maine economy has shifted away from
manufacturing.
But the proposal also recognizes the
importance of the forest products
industry and is built to both honor the
heritage of the working woods and to
exist in harmony with it going forward.
Right now, Elliotsville Plantation Inc., a
private operating foundation, owns more
than 100,000 acres that would be used
to create the national park and recreation
area.
In addition, the foundation has
guaranteed that in addition to giving the
land for the park and recreation area to
create the park, it would also establish
a $40 million endowment to support
the ong