Blueberries and salmon

Better late than never, lawmakers today are expected to consider a bill that would pay most of the cost of alternative water sources for wild blueberry growers. The price of LD 2493 — $8.3 million — is steep, but all sides agree that no conservation plan for Atlantic salmon could go forward without addressing summer draw downs of the Downeast rivers.

The question for legislators is whether they want to take action on this measure themselves or wait for around for the federal government to list the salmon as an endangered species, with the possibility of funding from federal agencies.

Certainly, keeping some control over this issue is in Maine’s interest, and if it costs a significant amount of one-time money to add a water use management plan to help protect the salmon habitat, that’s the price the state must pay. Reluctant lawmakers might look at the $8.3 million as a sound investment in Maine business and industry.

LD 2493 is more than just a pile of money to stave off the feds. The bill, which has bipartisan leadership support, provides technical assistance to blueberry growers to help design irrigation systems that protect salmon habitat and it helps growers through the state and federal regulatory processes. More than two years after the conservation plan was approved, this proposal, listed as a high priority in the plan, would provide a major step forward for the state. Gov. Angus King, at this point anyway, neither supports nor opposes the bill; the price tag has dampened his enthusiasm for it.

Nevertheless, the bill would, for instance, allow for continued growth in the wild-blueberry industry, an increasingly important natural-resource based business in Maine, which still has plenty of opportunity to expand in the coming decade. And the ponds and wells built through this proposal, in addition to the large investments growers already have made in irrigation, will become a permanent part of the infrastructure of the industry — they can’t be loaded on the back of a truck and moved out of state.

The water management bill is an opportunity for Maine to put its money where its fish are. If lawmakers are as determined to remain in control of salmon restoration as they say, LD 2493 is an essential part of the plan. They have a chance to support it today.