MAINE MONITOR • July 2, 2023
Plans to protect more than 10,000 acres of watershed in Franklin County, called the Kennebago Headwaters project, are in jeopardy over a legal question regarding whether the public has a guaranteed right to access the property. State officials said they want to ensure the public’s investment is protected, and are considering asking Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust to return the money if public access is ever lost. But promising to repay nearly $2 million — however unlikely that would be — would be a nonstarter, said Dick Spencer, a co-founder of the Trust, who now serves as the nonprofit’s attorney, adding that he would advise the nonprofit’s board to kill the project rather than agree to repay the money. Land for Maine’s Future Board Member Catherine Robbins-Halsted said, “We want to be careful because this could set a precedent.”