MILLINOCKET – Despite some resident opposition, board members of the Millinocket Area Growth and Investment Council voted Tuesday to accept a $25,000 grant channeled here by a national conservation organization.

In late March, The Wilderness Society received approval for a grant to study the feasibility of a local ecology park, which would use a wood-fired biomass boiler to provide heat and electricity to the park’s commercial tenants at below-market energy costs. MAGIC was a co-applicant on the grant.

The funds were passed through from the Jessie B. Cox Charitable Trust and the Sarah K. de Coizart Article 10th Perpetual Charitable Trust, both of which issue grants for environment and conservation projects, among other issues.

The idea of a development organization taking funds from a conservation society has led some area citizens to believe MAGIC might be “in bed with the enemy,” MAGIC Executive Director Bruce McLean told the group’s board members during a meeting at the Business Resource and Innovation Center. Contrary to the belief of some, The Wilderness Society would have no control over the study or a potential ecopark, McLean said.

While he supported the study and the project, board member Gene Conlogue opposed accepting the grant and said he was concerned that the real goal of The Wilderness Society was to create wilderness, a goal that runs counter to the local wood product-based economy.

“I think this is nothing but a tactic for a larger end that The Wilderness Society is trying to put forward,” Conlogue said.

In support of the grant, board member Don McNeil believed The Wilderness Society was an asset because it could attract funding and the organization had some expertise in environmentally conscious development like ecoparks. McNeil stressed that accepting the grant wouldn’t give The Wilderness Society control of the study or project.

“We do not have to be beholden to anyone,” McNeil said.

Beyond Wilderness Society control of the study, there are also the political ramifications to consider for accepting the grant, Conlogue said later. Some Millinocket residents regularly chide MAGIC at council meetings for not doing enough, and accepting the grant could further hurt public perception of the organization, Conlogue said.

McLean acknowledged the public criticism, but said he didn’t want to see the board react in fear.

“I think this is an opportunity for MAGIC to stand up and be a leader,” McLean said, about accepting the grant.

Board member Matt Polstein said the ecopark is promoting the future of the area. The board needs to make the decision based on the facts, not on the beliefs of the opposition, Polstein said.

“If we allow that one group of people to back us down on this issue … my feeling is that we’ve given up,” Polstein said.

With only Conlogue in opposition, the board voted 10-1 to accept the funds.