Here is the story of an 'ol Hippie who made it big and is putting her money where her mouth is. I read about her in the March/April Yankee Magazine. Do any of you know about her and Berts Bees. What do you think about her buying up the North Woods of Maine to conserve them?

http://www.yankeemagazine.com/issues/2008-03/features/quimby

I just know what I like and don't like when I'm out in the woods (or my front yard). I don't like to hear guns going off or snowmobiles & dirt bikes, don't like finding broken bottles, litter or cans. I like the quiet .... or the noise of nature. I don't think I'd like having to spend $10 everytime I wanted to go there. That's why I canoe in the ol' river rather than the resevoir where you have to pay to get in, pay to park and pay to put yer boat in the lake. People need to realize that we're responsible for stewardship of the land. Unfortunately, a lot don't really give a damn, just as long as they have their fun, even at the expense of others and/or the land.

A friend of mine from Traverse City, was very angry when the state took over the sleeping bear dunes and started charging for walking on them. She flatly exclaimed that she was not going to pay to get in.

It's a great place, by the way, if you ever get the chance to go there. At the top you can see the manitou islands on one side and glen lake on the other. very beautiful and the sand feels great on your feet

The legend is a mother bear and her 2 cubs swam across lake michigan from wisconsin to get away from a forest fire. The cubs drownd and formed the islands and the dunes are the mother bear waiting for her cubs. The story is, of course, a little more involved than that...

Unless I'm misreading the article, the people in Maine have the choice of developers owning the land, developing parts of it and making promises about the other parts (that developers never keep, or else they sell the land later and the new owners aren't bound by any promises), or they can have a park that's there for all, including the critters. And to pay a little for keeping treasures like that protected seems fair. The naysayers seem mostly to be wanting it to go back to the way it was, without any effort on their or anyone else's part. We all want that about most things, but it seems to be something we don't get in this life. She sounds like a good person. I love Bert's Bees lip balm. Now I like it even more, knowing the story behind it. Though it's gone big-corporate like Ben & Jerry's, I guess that's another case of things not staying the way they were.

In south Jersey, we've been paying for beach access for decades. At first I thought it was just a way for regions, locals, politicians, whatever, to make money, but came to realize that it's a way to fund the upkeep, and preserve what we had. Like Shelley said.

If it's to fund the upkeep & preservation, I'll all for it. But if it's just going to the general state fund then, probably, not a lot will get back to the park lands.

That's what's beautiful about this ... it's not the general state fund.

Yup Shel that's the good part, she owns the land.

i am still thinking about the honey bees
i am a little worried about them

agnes,
I read the story and she is inspirational, but I am worried about the bees too. I'm assuming you are speaking about the fact that the bee population is seriously decreasing. We need bees or we have no flowers or fruit. Actually the entire food chain could be negatively affected unless someone figures out what is happening to all the bees.

I hope Ms. Quimby will use some of her money to fund research to save the world's bees.

Colony collapse disorder is scary; it could disrupt our food chain and wildlife foodchains in a big way. A Google search reveals lots of buzz ('scuse me) on the Internet--scientists are working on it, but they don't even know yet what's causing it; the current most likely suspect seems to be a fungus.

There's a sweet way to help fund the search for a cure--by eating Haagen-Dazs (!):

http://helpthehoneybees.com

(Warning: that site has some interesting info but it's presented with irritatingly cute Flash animation.)

Prayers just said & vibes sent for the bees. Buzz on bees....

yes! that is what i was talking about

thanks ceas, for posting the link...i love the planting ideas too,,,i hope they help!

today i saw a fox...and more copperheads than i've ever seen in one day!

Not to mention mead production!!!!