Coalition facing deadline to regain Greenland Point

PRINCETON – A coalition of individuals and groups wants to return the Greenland Point Center to its original purpose, a youth conservation camp, and have reached a deal with the developer with the contract to buy it.

To acquire the parcel, Greenland Point Coalition has to raise $21,000 by Nov. 20, the day the sales contract must be signed. The University of Maine System, the property’s owner, in August agreed to sell the center to the developer for $400,000.

Of the deal between the coalition and the developer, a Washington County businessman who wants to remain anonymous, UMS spokesman John Diamond said, “We are not in a position at this point to comment.”

The developer could not be reached for comment Monday.

Within walking distance of the Princeton Rod and Gun Club, the Greenland Point Center is located on a 64-acre peninsula on Long Lake in Princeton. UMS owns 32 acres. The rest is leased from Wagner Land Management.

The camp was established in 1960 for the University of Maine’s forestry department. UMS took over in the late 1970s, partially to support its recreation management program.

A place where Maine and Washington County youth attended camp, it was used every summer except the last.

The coalition has started raising funds in earnest. The Sunrise County Economic Council put up $210 as a challenge. That was soon matched by checks of $210 from three other groups, the Princeton Rod and Gun Club, the Penobscot County Conservation Association and the Unity Foundation.

“We are challenging any other organization or individual with an interest in youth to meet this $210 challenge,” said Jennifer Peters of the Sunrise County Economic Council.

“Maine is a great state because of its natural resources and outdoor heritage,” coalition member Rick Scribner said. “[Coalition members] want to preserve that and to pass that on to the next generation.”

Jon Speed, the coalition’s president, said, “All we have to do is be given the chance.”