[at-l] 241,000 arces of Maine Forest protected

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Conservation group provides financing for paper company
Wednesday, August 28, 2002, 7:06 AM
PORTLAND (AP) -- Conservationists and the paper industry are buzzing about an
unprecedented corporate refinancing agreement designed to protect 241,000
acres of northern Maine forest.

The agreement between The Nature Conservancy and Great Northern Paper
guarantees public access and sustainable forestry while barring development
in woodlands around Mount Katahdin.

The nonprofit conservation group will take ownership of 41,000 acres and
obtain an easement on 200,000 acres of working forest. In exchange, the group
will retire $14 million in loans to Great Northern and refinance loans
totaling $36 million.

The deal followed months of negotiations initiated by The Nature Conservancy.


Great Northern CEO Lambert Bedard said he first thought the proposal was too
good to be true, but was delighted to find out there was no catch. The Nature
Conservancy's Bill Ginn, who came up with the idea, says it's on a scale
comparable to the creation of Baxter State Park