BANGOR (AP) – The co-chairmen of an advisory committee seeking support for a proposed Maine Woods National Park say they are willing to scale back the project in hopes of placating critics and winning congressional support for a feasibility study.

Will LaPage, co-chairman of Americans for a Maine Woods National Park, said Monday that his group hopes to overcome some of the “acrimony and stridency of the past” by advocating for the best solution – whether that be one large park or a combination of a park, a wildlife reserve where hunting is allowed, and a national forest where some limited logging occurs.

“I don’t think anyone wants to take any of these economic options off the table right now,” LaPage said. “Let’s work together and find the best way.”

The goal is to have some kind of federal protection in place by the end of the decade, according to a mission statement written by LaPage and his co-chairman, Roxanne Quimby.

The advisory panel said Monday it intends to join RESTORE: The North Woods in seeking a federal feasibility study of the economic, ecological and social benefits and consequences of a national park.

RESTORE has been pushing for a feasibility study since 1992, when it proposed a Maine Woods National Park that would cover 3.2 million acres across northern and western Maine.

“It’s silly to continue talking about a park when we don’t have a feasibility study,” LaPage said.

Local leaders near the proposed park area, however, said Monday that they oppose any kind of federal ownership and are not inclined to negotiate over the details.

“We don’t want a national forest. We want a working forest that is held by private owners,” said Gene Conlogue, the Millinocket town manager who also chairs the Maine Woods Coalition, a group created to oppose a national park.

Formed last year, Americans for a Maine Woods National Park has about 120 members, including such Hollywood headliners as Robert Redford, Ted Danson and Meryl Streep.

Quimby, the founder of Burt’s Bees and former member of the RESTORE board of directors, has purchased about 50,000 acres in the region, including an entire township, to ensure their protection.

The Maine Woods Coalition estimates that 50 percent of the 3.2 million acres targeted by RESTORE is already under some kind of protection. The proposed park area includes Lily Bay State Park, part of the Appalachian Trail, and Baxter State Park in addition to large conservation easements such as the West Branch Project.

AP-ES-04-27-04 1045EDT