At a press conference on May 31, 2000 at 11:00 am  at 47 Main St., Bangor Maine, a press conference was held to announce the filing of a civil suit in the State of Maine Superior Court for Penobscot County to challenge the legality of fees charged for recreational day use of portions of the
great north woods by the citizens of the State of Maine. Historically, fees were charged to Maine citizens for recreational day use of portions of the great north woods by Great Northern Paper, Inc. In
1993, When Great Northern Paper, Inc., applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the relicensure of its hydropower projects on its lands, the Fin & Feather Club interceded. Through a process of negotiation between The Fin and Feather Club and Great
Northern Paper, Inc. an settlement agreement was reached and executed dated August, 1993. By way of that agreement, Great Northern Paper, Inc.  agreed to refrain charging fees to all Maine citizens for recreational day use of allof its  “gated” lands for thirty (30) years, the life of the license. The
Fin and Feather Club agreed to withdraw its opposition to the relicensure before FERC. There after, Great Northern Paper, Inc. indeed, did cease collection of these fees. However, In April, 1999, fees were again charged Maine citizens for recreational day use of those portions of the great
north woods.

The Fin and Feather Club and Vernon now initiates suit against Great Northern Paper Inc., and other related corporations to challenge the legality of the imposition of these fees in light of the 1993 Settlement Agreement and related FERC proceedings. The Fin and Feather Club and Vernon
Haines seek a declaration by the courts of the State of Maine that its citizens are entitled to free recreation Day use of these portions of the Great North Woods. The following is the text of The Fin and Feather Club’s statement made to the press at 11:00 am, Wednesday May 31, 2000 by Ray Campbell, Executive Director of The Fin and Feather Club.

In 1993  we negotiated in good faith with representatives of Great Northern Paper. To secure a benefit for all the citizens of the State of Maine -----free access to 1.2 million acres of Maine’s Great North Woods. We worked hard to achieve this, and we compromised our opposition to Great
Northern’s FERC license renewals to achieve this benefit. We viewed ourselves as honest, serious men negotiation in good faith. It is apparent that Great Northern Paper has now violated that agreement, and our trust.

I for one will not stand idly by and watch as our achievement for all  Maine people be lost to some corporate shell game. We are here today to start this lawsuit, to ask the courts to insure that we get the benefit of our bargain, not just for ourselves, but for all Maine citizens.

I love Maine’s woods, and lakes and streams, and I take pride in the role The Fin and Feather Club has played in securing free access to this beautiful part of our state. Hopefully, at the resolution of this suit, free access to the Great North Woods woll once again belong to all Maine citizens,  including my children’s children, and my Grand children’s children.