[at-l] New Reservation System at Katahdin

[blisterfree at isp01.net (Brett)]

>>But such unsupported speculations strike me as 
>>meaningless -- and foolish.

Hey, nothing like good old fashioned foolish speculation to 
get people thinking and debating, perhaps eventually outing 
the truth. Sure is easier than doing all the research 
myself.

- blisterfree

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob C" <ellen@clinic.net>
To: "Brett" <blisterfree@isp01.net>; "Appalachian Trail" 
<at-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Saturday, December 18, 2004 11:08 AM
Subject: Re: [at-l] New Reservation System at Katahdin


>"...Is it even possible for BSP to "lose money," given the
multi-million dollar trust fund left by ol' Percival
himself, presumably which collects annual interest in excess
of costs? Is the fee structure not simply designed to
prioritize visitations to the advantage of Maine residents
over all the other heathen hordes who'd otherwise run
rampant through the forever wilderness?"

In a word yes. It was Baxter's dream that his legacy could 
survive forever on the earnings from his trust fund. So far 
it has. If I remember rightly he left around $8 million when 
he died several decades ago. Presumably that legacy rose 
during the "irrational exuberance" of the 90s and slumped 
thereafter. But by today's standards this was a mediocre 
legacy. I have no special knowledge of the parks finances. 
But such unsupported speculations strike me as 
meaningless -- and foolish.

As far as the advantage Maine residents have. That was the 
good Governor's wish. Since it was his money and his 
lifetime's work that created the park, I can't think of any 
reason to ignore his wishes.

Weary