Poisoned trees gave a wealthy couple in Maine a killer ocean view. Residents wonder, at what cost?

By DAVID SHARP
Associated Press

CAMDEN, Maine (AP) — There was one thing missing when a wealthy Missouri couple purchased their oceanfront home overlooking Camden Harbor in Maine: The million-dollar view was blocked by a neighbor’s trees. Documents show the former CEO of the St. Louis Foundation went to great lengths to remove that obstacle, hauling an herbicide from Missouri to kill the trees. That view has cost about $1.7 million in settlements and fines, and that could grow with further testing. The herbicide leached into a neighboring park and the town’s only public ocean beach. And the state attorney general is considering further action.