History
Elliotsville Plantation, Inc., was established in 2002 as a private operating foundation for the acquisition and conservation of land and the preservation of open space for the benefit of the public and the conduct of educational and stewardship programs. The foundation now manages over 100,000 acres of wild forest and coastal lands in northern, north-central, and mid-coast Maine.
The First Purchase
The concept for EPI originated eleven years ago, when founder Roxanne Quimby bought over 8,000 acres of land in Elliotsville Township, Maine. Money for the land purchase came from the operating cash of her rapidly growing natural cosmetics company Burt’s Bees. This initial purchase marked the beginning of Roxanne’s land acquisition efforts and the turning point in her commitment to protect wildlife habitat and open spaces.
Before EPI
Long before EPI’s creation or Burt’s Bees' corporate success, Roxanne made the decision to settle in Maine. Her handcrafted cabin and first office building were not far from the Appalachian Trail’s final miles that terminate at the peak of Mount Katahdin. From those surroundings, her successful production and sale of natural cosmetics provided the ability to protect Maine’s environment. Engaged early on with environmental issues, specifically the Bottle Bill in 1978, Roxanne found private ownership of large parcels of land a new, powerful way to catalyze change in the management of forest lands in Maine.
Founding EPI
Observing the uninterrupted trail experience of Appalachian Trail through-hikers, including that of her own children, Roxanne understood that land acquisitions needed to be contiguous to protect habitat and preserve the wild character of the land. She initially acquired parcels adjoining the Appalachian Trail and Baxter State Park. This same understanding helped her address the importance of contiguous, stable, and comprehensive snowmobile trails to ensure Maine’s economic health. With growing knowledge of land conservation issues and of the diverse uses of land, Roxanne founded EPI to formalize policies and establish an ecological land management process for the properties.
National Park Acquisitions
After initial land acquisitions in northern Maine, Roxanne recognized the need to eliminate private inholdings within the boundaries of Maine’s coastal Acadia National Park. Such inholdings permit development that jeopardizes the Park’s natural and wild characteristics and can impair viewsheds and habitat. Starting in 2005, Roxanne began working with Acadia’s Superintendent to identify and acquire critical parcels within the Park’s boundaries. One of the smallest national parks in the country, Acadia has the highest amount of visitors per acre. The value of an additional acre added to the Park is thus very high. Initial acquisitions in Acadia have launched her efforts to acquire inholdings in other national parks all across the country and gift them to the National Park Service on the 100th Anniversary of its creation in 2016.
EPI’s ongoing land acquisition efforts, communication with local recreational users to identify their needs, and collaboration with the National Park Service has led Roxanne and her foundation to conclude that federal protection is the best management option for EPI’s lands and the public.
Present Management
Currently EPI is governed by a Board of Directors, and its lands and natural resources are managed by James W. Sewall Company of Old Town, Maine.
Our stewardship goals are to:
- Preserve and restore native plant and animal species, natural communities and processes, historic cultural and scenic assets, and the wild character of the land;
- Provide for compatible public access and low-impact human use;
- Promote public awareness and appreciation of the value of preserving core wild areas and connecting them on a landscape scale.