| National Park Service buys
Perkins' Bar Island property
January 29, 2003 By Greg Fish Bar Harbor Times Bar Harbor, Maine 207-288-3311 To submit a Letter to the Editor: bhtmail@downeast.net Acadia National Park, Maine - The National Park Service has bought the remaining 12 acres that were privately owned on Bar Island, according to acting superintendent Len Bobinchock. The deal was wrapped up on Jan. 21. Mr. Bobinchock said the property's owner, former NBC news correspondent Jack Perkins, approached the Park Service to see if the federal government would be interested in buying and adding it to Acadia National Park. The rest of the 68-acre island -- which, while just a few hundred feet from Bar Harbor -- actually is within the boundaries of Gouldsboro, already was part of Acadia. Park officials said yes, and a reported purchase price of $1.4 million was agreed upon. "Congress has directed us to acquire land for Acadia on a willing seller basis, and this is a popular spot we want to preserve," Mr. Bobinchock said. "It's taken us years to acquire all of Bar Island. I've been here since 1989, and we've only done one other land purchase since then." Many people, both local residents and visitors, take the short walk out to scenic Bar Island via Bridge Street during low tide. The purchase also includes several buildings. Mr. Bobinchock said no plans have been made for them yet, but that in the future they may be moved elsewhere. ©Bar Harbor Times 2003 http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=6865568&BRD=1465&PAG=461&dept_id=182898&rfi=8 ===== Not always willing: Eminent Domain at Acadia February 1, 2003 Letter to the Editor by Erich Veyhl Trescott and Concord, Massachusetts The National Park Service statement quoted in your article on its Bar Island acquisition suggesting the agency only buys from "willing sellers" was disingenuous. After a long battle, the National Park Service condemned 22 acres on Bar Island in 1989 from Fred Rullison of New York, and has threatened many more throughout the Acadia acquisition region. The National Park Service considers anyone who gives in to its threats without completing the condemnation in court as a "willing seller." The Rullisons settled out of court to avoid additional legal and interest costs. They were not "willing sellers." http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=7058576&BRD=1465&PAG=461&dept_id=182898&rfi=8 |