Conservationist and Burt’s Bees co-founder Roxanne Quimby has purchased the scenic Ocean Woods campground on the Schoodic Peninsula in Hancock County and intends to continue operating it.
Portland-based real estate auction house Tranzon LLC disclosed on Sept. 9 that the 113-acre property had been placed under contract, and that a previously scheduled Tranzon auction had been canceled. On Thursday, Tranzon acknowledged that the sale had been completed and that the buyer was Quimby. It did not disclose the sale price.
Quimby has been a controversial figure in Maine. Her foundation, Elliotsville Plantation Inc., donated more than 87,500 acres in the Katahdin region to the federal government in August in a critical step toward the creation of a national monument in Maine’s North Woods. In August, President Obama designated the area a national monument.
Lucas St. Clair, president of Elliotsville Plantation and Quimby’s son, said Thursday that the family intends to continue operating Ocean Woods as a campground. St. Clair said Quimby chose to purchase the property because of its natural beauty and proximity to Acadia National Park.
“It’s just a beautiful place on the coast of Maine that really is so unique,” he said. “It’s also a great way to keep people on the Schoodic Peninsula.”
St. Clair said the campground provides an alternative to the sometimes crowded Acadia park and gives visitors a way to stay on the peninsula overnight. He said it also complements the recently opened Schoodic Woods campground, which the National Park Service operates further inland.
“In my opinion, it’s one of the most beautiful places on the coast of Maine,” he said.
Quimby’s land donation to the federal government was controversial and opposed by many local residents.
Although mile-high Mount Katahdin is located in Baxter State Park, Quimby’s land in the area include miles of frontage along the East Branch of the Penobscot River as well as Wassataquoik Stream. She has used proceeds from the sale of Burt’s Bees, the company she co-founded, to purchase large tracts of land in the Moosehead and Katahdin regions.
Quimby has amassed fans of her conservation philanthropy, and also ardent critics because she restricted hunting, snowmobiling and forestry on some of her land.
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