Bookmark & share:

E-mail this page E-mail a letter to the editor Reader Comments (below)

George Smith 05/14/2008

On Monday, Maine's Land Use Regulation Commission, or LURC, wrapped up public workshops on a new comprehensive land use plan for the unorganized territories. The proposed plan has annoyed private landowners and could significantly alter the ways we recreate in the north woods.

Last month I shared the thoughts of my employer, the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine, about the plan at a LURC meeting. Here is some of what I said.

The plan should focus on what is best for the landowners, the economy and the people who recreate on these lands. Some of the proposed language is threatening to landowners, counter to the area's economic needs and detrimental to those who currently recreate there or who want to recreate there in the future. The plan ought to present a vision and plan for a better economy for these lands, their owners and the people who live, work and recreate there.

The Brookings Institution reported that from 1970 to 2004, several rural Maine counties experienced inflation-adjusted income growth of less than one percent. Average annual wages in Aroostook and Washington counties actually decreased. Aroostook lost 3,000 jobs.

A lot of land in these counties is governed by LURC. So LURC must be part of their economic solution. The new plan can't be built without recognizing these economic realities and addressing these serious economic problems.

If LURC does not do this, it will fail our state and its people.

The things that are working well for the economy of this area are forestry, snowmobiling and bear hunting. The thing that is not working well is primitive wilderness backcountry -- a focus of the new plan. Visitor numbers in backcountry areas have plummeted. Tenting is out. Luxury is in.

In fact, those who advocate for wilderness don't want more people there. Gil Gilpatrick, an ardent environmentalist and Allagash advocate and guide, is a member of one of the Allagash Advisory Council's technical committees.

In the April edition of Northwoods Sporting Journal, here's what Gil wrote about a budget problem of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway: "One way to reduce the per person cost, of course, is to increase the number of people using the Waterway. In fact, this is the solution that was suggested to me at the time of my appointment. This solution never did sit well with me. Why would you want to increase the number of people in an area where you wanted to maintain the maximum wilderness experience?"

Why, indeed!

Unfortunately, bear hunting and snowmobiling are the very activities that would be eliminated in remote wilderness that some groups advocate for Maine -- and are in fact being eliminated even in accessible areas right now, including ecoreserves. The Appalachian Mountain Club shut down 30 miles of snowmobile trails and banned bear baiting soon after taking ownership of lands in the Katahdin Ironworks area.

You can't turn back the clock on technology, nor should LURC try to do so in the plan. Our ancestors lived in caves, but none of us want to go back to those days. Many people want flush toilets, hot showers, laptops and cell phones, even at camp. Some people even like their big TVs so they can watch the Red Sox. They should not be denied.

Too much of what is being debated is simply one person imposing his or her values and interests over someone else's values and interests.

Protect the resources, sure, but don't tell us how and where we can use them and please, make sure those who own the land are able to achieve their goals for the land they own.

The draft plan, if presented by any planning board to any town meeting, would be soundly rejected. And the principle reason for that is the plan's failure to serve the landowners.

For the second time in 15 years, I am involved in creating a comprehensive plan for my town of Mount Vernon. Last year we hosted a very successful meeting with all of the town's large landowners. We intend to make sure our plan acknowledges their hopes and dreams for the land that they own and makes it possible for them to achieve those hopes and dreams. LURC should do no less.

George Smith is executive director of the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine. He lives in Mount Vernon and can be reached at george@samcef.org.

Bookmark and share this story: