On the surface, the movement to nominate the Penobscot as an American Heritage River seems a placid thing, a presidential pat on the back for a job well done, a helping hand from the government to keep up the good work.

But, as evidenced by the objections raised the other night in Old Town at the first of three informational meetings on the plan, there is an undercurrent of distrust, a deep suspicion of federal intrusion onto private property that must be addressed, that backers of the nomination ignore at their own peril.

There is no reason to doubt that President Clinton launched this initiative with the best of intentions: designate 10 American rivers as ecologically and historically special; provide up to $100,000 for a staff to coordinate the myriad local efforts already under way; give communities along the banks the inside track on federal grants to further improve recreation and environmental protection, and cap it all off with a personal visit by the chief executive.

The problem, at least in the eyes of opponents, is that feel-good federal programs all too often are followed by a severe regulatory hangover. The president may mean well, but it’s that anonymous mid-level bureaucrat in some obscure agency that worries folks out in the boonies.

Maybe they over-react, maybe the White House does just want to help, but there is more at stake than a gold star and a photo op. The Penobscot watershed covers some 8,600 square miles from the ocean nearly to the Canadian border. It encompasses more than 100 cities and towns, more than 180,000 residents, hundreds of lakes, streams and ponds. It isn’t just parks, hiking trails , salmon and scenery — it’s paper mills, forestry, agriculture and aquaculture. And 95 percent of it is privately owned.

Supporters of the initiative make up an impressive alliance of local officials, Penobscot Indian leaders, educators and economic developers, but they must do more than merely deny that the designation will bring more regulations and loss of property rights. They must, as Rep. Patricia Lane of Enfield said at the Old Town meeting, “Prove it.”

They must provide precise details of the obligations that come with the designation, the $100,000 staff funding, the special grant attention. If there are strings attached, the public must know beforehand just how long they are.

The biggest mistake supporters can make is to write off opponents as the black helicopter crowd. One does not have to go back very far in Maine history, just three weeks to election day will suffice, to see what happens when the concern about government intrusion is underestimated. Backers of the Forest Compact focussed their expensive campaign almost solely upon those who said the compact did not go far enough, virtually ignoring those who said it went too far. The result — no compact. If the Penobscot is to become an American Heritage River, those along its banks must be assured it is not at the cost of Maine’s heritage of private property rights.