Wealthy Maine Vacationer Poisons Trees for Better View in Camden
This story will do nothing for Maine's disdain for wealthy outsiders.
The Boston Globe covered a remarkable story that sounds made up for Netflix, but is true. A wealthy couple from Missouri, who are politically well-connected, poisoned their neighbor's trees so they would have a better view of Camden Harbor.
The residents of Camden, a small iconic Maine town, are outraged.
THE VILLIAN: Amelia Bond – Former CEO of the St. Louis Foundation
Amelia, according to the Boston Globe, brought herbicide from Missouri in 2021, then dumped it near oak trees on the waterfront property of her neighbor, Lisa Gorman.
THE VICTIM: Lisa Gorman, wife of the late Leon Gorman, L.L. Bean’s president and grandson of L.L. himself.
It's horrible enough that trees were killed on purpose, but the herbicide leaked to a neighboring park and the town’s only public seaside beach. The state attorney general is now investigating.
One person interviewed by the Boston Globe, Paul Hodgson, shared his disgust:
Anybody dumb enough to poison trees right next to the ocean should be prosecuted, as far as I’m concerned.
Missouri couple offered to split the cost of removing the dying trees.
When the trees (and any other plant around) started dying, Amelia Bond and her husband told Lisa that they would share the cost of cutting them down. Lisa Gorman decided to have the trees tested. That's when it was discovered that the trees were poisoned with Tebuthiuron, a potent herbicide.
That chemical stays in the ground and doesn't go away, and has now gone into a neighboring park and beach. That has the entire town up in arms and angry at this couple who would stoop so low for a better view.
Tom Hedstrom, chair of the Select Board, told the Boston Globe,
Wealth and power don’t always go hand in hand with intelligence, education, and morals. This was atrocious and gross and any other word you want to use to describe abhorrent behavior.
How much money has this couple 'from away' had to pay for their stupidity and arrogance?
So far, they have paid over $1.5 million to Lisa Gorman, $4,500 to the Maine Board of Pesticides Control Board for unauthorized use, $180,000 to Camden for violations, and another $30,000 for environmental testing. They have currently shelled out around $1.7 million dollars for their view.
That's not enough.
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