Those who promote division in Maine's North Woods have resurrected a
needless controversy over the purchase of Katahdin Lake and lands long
desired for inclusion in Baxter State Park.
This time, the trigger is the announcement that Roxanne Quimby, the
conservation philanthropist, has acquired a significant holding
immediately to the south of both the Katahdin Lake tract and 8,000 acres
just to the east. Both are currently owned by the Gardner Land Co. and
are central to a conservation deal worked out in the Legislature.
This spring, a special-interest coalition headed by the Sportsmen's
Alliance of Maine and the Maine Snowmobile Association nearly derailed
the deal to secure 6,000 acres around Katahdin Lake because, as part of
the state park, hunting, trapping, snowmobiling and ATV use would not be
allowed.
In response, lawmakers snipped off 2,000 acres north of the lake for
hunter access and encouraged a private conservation partner, The Trust
for Public Land, to enter into an option on the adjacent Gardner land.
Both pieces would be protected for multiple use.
Quimby's purchase of 23,000 acres to the south could mean roads and
trails leading to the Gardner lands will be closed. The state is working
feverishly to provide an alternate route from the east across other
private timberlands and state public reserved lands.
But now the special interests that turned what should have been a
simple, universally supported conservation purchase into a legislative
ordeal are balking.
Outrageously, the principal agitator of this group, SAM's executive
director George Smith, says lawmakers should repeal sections of the
Katahdin Lake legislation crafted specifically for his constituents
because10,000 acres set aside for their use is not enough. After all the
fuss this spring, he says the state and the Trust for Public Land are
free to reconstitute the the original deal.
Unbelievably, Smith also suggests that to mitigate the loss of hunter
and snowmobile access caused by Quimby's purchase, sportsmen should
"capture all the public money" that would have been used to buy the
10,000 acres and redirect it to lands closer to Millinocket that offer
multiple-use opportunities.
To Gov. Baldacci's credit, when Smith called to complain, Baldacci told
him, in effect, to take a hike.
It's hard to understand why Smith thinks his ongoing support is
necessary for the state to complete a once-in-a-lifetime conservation
project overwhelmingly supported by lawmakers.
What's equally puzzling is his presumption that the minority of a
minority that his group represents should be allowed to direct the
expenditure millions of public dollars.
SAM may be the largest and loudest hunter lobbying group in the state,
but Smith should not forget that SAM's 13,000 or so Maine members
represent just 10 percent of the state's hunting and fishing license
holders.
This is in no way meant to suggest that the acquisition of large chunks
of Maine's North Woods by owners who prohibit multiple uses is not a
cause for significant concern. In a perfect world, the state, which was
initially interested in the land, would buy these tracts. Unfortunately,
it doesn't have the money.
The fact is that Quimby's Elliotsville Plantation foundation bought the
land fair and square. Whatever happened to property rights?
In the context of the North Woods, 10,000 acres set aside for hunting
and snowmobiling as part of the Katahdin Lake deal isn't a lot of land.
But that's not the reason these folks are complaining. To them, Quimby
is the devil, for reasons that are both philosophical and expedient. Her
support of a Maine Woods National Park makes her a reliable symbol of
all of the ills and injustices allegedly visited on rural Mainers by
elitists from away.
A similar tack of disparaging out-of-state interests has been adopted by
foes of Plum Creek's massive development proposal for Moosehead Lake.
Quimby and Plum Creek represent two facets of the same historic change
sweeping the North Woods. No longer can Mainers count on private
landowners to preserve the access generations have assumed is their
birthright.
But demonizing and scapegoating these new owners won't get us where we
need to be.
If Mainers want to ensure they can visit the North Woods as they have in
the past, they need to support public land acquisition, particularly by
the state of Maine. The law compels the Department of Conservation to
manage its lands for multiple uses.
A final point: Deciding who gets what will be contentious, but it need
not be as divisive as special interest groups like SAM and the Maine
Snowmobile Association are making it.
Reader comments
Cecil Gray of Bingham ME., ME
Sep 16, 2006 8:57 PM
The correct percent is more like five than ten. As a hunter they have never represented my interests. In fact since their power coup in the nineties, which delegated a lifetime president and the internal lawsuit that followed, they have become a corporate lobbyist. Their nose follows the money and they manipulate their membership with tired, outdated, stereotypical, rhetoric. The sad thing is that the silent majority stands by why these radicals are put on the front page of the papers and dominate the advisory board on outdoor legislation in the legislature. Folks need to contact their representatives and seek equal representation from said reps. on these committees.