OF MICE AND PROGRESS

The Jackson Laboratory nestles in the woods on the edge of Bar Harbor, next to Acadia National Park. So far, the three have lived together peacefully and productively. A current question is whether this peaceable kingdom can survive and prosper.

The lab serves two purposes. As a world-renowned genetic research institution, it leads in searching for causes and cures of such mysterious diseases as cancer and Alzheimer’s. As a mouse factory, it sells a million specially bred mice a year to other research institutions here and in 56 other countries to help them develop drugs and procedures. Like any successful venture, The Jackson Lab expands from time to time. It now is making plans for an additional research building, to be operated by about 200 additional staffers.

While the lab enjoys broad community support and pride, a small but energetic group opposes further growth. They consider the present complex an eyesore and don’t want it to get any bigger. No one can doubt their sincerity. They are by no means all recent arrivals to Maine who now want to pull up the drawbridge. A few hikers resent the intrusion of the buildings and parking lots into an otherwise natural landscape. Some neighbors complain about having to look at a factory and the smell of mice when the wind is right. Other objections include questions about the original deed and whether genetic research benefits only the rich and is not all that important anyhow.

The long-time director, Dr. Kenneth Paigen, happened to arrive at the very time that the mouse house went up in flames. As the coolest hand there, he took charge of saving the rare mouse strains and rebuilding the plant. Since then, with appearance as well as function in mind, he has taken architectural advice and seen that new buildings avoid the ugly multiple chimney vents, feature brick and stone instead of cement-block construction, and have rounded roofs clad in copper, turning green in time and more or less blending into the forest scene. He is exploring the possibility of busing more of the close to 1,200 employees to the lab to reduce traffic and minimize parking requirements.

Dr. Paigen ruffled a few feathers at a recent town meeting with a pointed remark that saving lives at the expense of some infringement on views was a good thing. He was right, if

a bit undiplomatic. He was right, too, in stressing the year-round contribution of the lab to Mount Desert Island’s economy. Even with the lab’s MDI payroll of $22.9 million a year,

Bar Harbor has a lot of boarded-up storefronts in the winter. Many business owners have given up on winter and leased out their properties to seasonal enterprises. One year-round shopkeeper counted 17 T-shirt stores, all closed until spring.

Still, Bar Harbor supports two year-round hardware stores, a drugstore, bookstores, dry cleaners and hairdressers. Gov. Angus King told a Husson College business breakfast that without the lab Mount Desert Island would be a “one-season Bermuda.” He found it ludicrous that, as he had read in that day’s newspaper, “Jackson Lab Chief Defends Expansion.” The laboratory’s presence and modest future expansion should be welcomed, and, mostly, it is.