TOWNSHIP 1 RANGE 8 — The president of Great Northern Paper Co. says a national park proposal by conservationist Roxanne Quimby doesn’t threaten the supply of wood for the mills in Millinocket and East Millinocket.

But mill officials don’t support the park, they said, because air-quality standards for national parks could hurt the area’s businesses.

Additional Photos

In this Jan 28, 2011 file photo, Wassataquoik Stream flows through Township 3, Range 8, Maine, on land owned by Roxanne Quimby, the founder of Burt's Bees cosmetics company. Quimby has offered to donate a 70,000-acre parcel she owns to create a national park adjacent to the state's Baxter Park. But former state Senate president Charles Pray wants a study that looks beyond the scope of a national park's possible impacts on tourism and looks at its broader implications. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File) AP

Mill president Peter Hanson told 75 Katahdin Area Chamber of Commerce members this week that the park would have to grow far beyond 70,000 acres to present a problem in terms of wood supply.

But a company spokesman told the Bangor Daily News on Thursday those comments shouldn’t be interpreted as a vote of support.

“We believe people could have misconstrued our position,” said spokesman Scott Tranchemontagne. “We do not support the park proposal. GNP is focused on making paper, bringing new technologies to the area, creating jobs and lifting the region’s economy. That is what we’re about. We can’t support a proposal that could limit businesses, impact current jobs and decrease the potential for new jobs in the future.”

Quimby, founder of Burt’s Bees, wants to donate land she owns next to Baxter State Park to the National Park Service.

Her proposal has met with mixed reaction across the state but also has met with fierce local opposition. East Millinocket residents voted against allowing a feasibility study.

East Millinocket and Millinocket have a combined population of about 7,000.

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