In 1999, Marilyn Tourtelotte was named manager of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, a Department of Conservation job requiring her to live in the area.
In a sworn statement, she said Commissioner of Conservation Patrick McGowan’s secretary emailed her “inquiring how she could reserve my assigned residence for use by the commissioner and his guests.”
Tourtelotte’s supervisor said that wasn’t allowed; the residence was her home.
Subsequently, the department investigated Tourtelotte based on an “outside complaint.”
McGowan said Tourtelotte “was never asked to move out.”
“We were doing a film on the 40th anniversary of the … waterway, and I asked if the film crew could stay in the cabin near the Churchill residence. It was not her residence; it’s an outbuilding,” said McGowan. “It’s not an issue, her statement was so ridiculous.”
In July 2008, the department settled with Tourtelotte for $30,000 and provided her a comparably paid job in the Land Use Regulation Commission.
— Maine Center for
Public Interest Reporting
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