PORTLAND (AP) – Concerned that the sale of Fox Islands could limit access to the coastal state park they abut, conservation officials in Maine have begun an effort to acquire the 5.3 acres on which they sit.

Home to a 45-foot mound of rock that affords panoramic views of the coast and Seguin Island Light, the islands are not part of Popham Beach State Park. The Maine Department of Conservation and the Maine Coast Heritage Trust have begun negotiations with the islands’ owner to include them permanently with the park.

“I think most people who go to Popham think the islands are part of the park,” said Ralph Knoll, deputy director for Maine’s Bureau of Parks and Lands. “Now we’d like to secure those islands so that they can be permanently protected.”

The islands, which are accessible at low tide to sunbathers from Popham Beach, were purchased in the 1950s by a former Bowdoin College student named Whitfield Case. His daughter, Constance Case of Westport, Conn., inherited them about four years ago. Recently, she tried unsuccessfully to sell the islands.

“I won’t be selling the islands. It just didn’t work out,” she said.

Christopher Fichtel of the Maine Coast Heritage Trust said he doubts a house could be built on the islands, which are low enough that waves sweep over them in heavy storms. But there is concern that they could be sold as private property.

Town officials have applied for a grant from the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund to help them secure the islands and include them in the park. Knoll says the grant could help fund the acquisiton, which could cost $110,000.

Since opening in 1970, the park off Route 209 in Phippsburg has grown in popularity. In 2004, it was the most heavily visited state park with more than 189,000 visitors, many of whom checked out the islands.


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