I have followed the debate in the Morning Sentinel newspaper regarding the Spencer Lake boat ramp. As a retired forester for S.D. Warren and Sappi for 32 years, and as the timberlands manager for Sappi during the time the boat ramp was proposed, I was a participant in the proceedings. Sappi’s facilities are staffed and managed here in Maine by people who live in our local communities, many of who have lived here their entire life. This certainly described the people who worked in the timberlands and lived in many of the small communities of the Kennebec Valley.

Sappi strongly supported and thereby continued the philosophy of past owners to provide open access to its 900,000-plus acres of forest ownership. Additionally, it supported sharing unique natural resources with the general recreational public. Our belief was that our fellow Maine citizens deserved to share the forest beauty even if they did not have the physical endurance or time to bushwhack for miles while carrying a canoe or the finances to hire a plane. As a result, Sappi made available hundreds of miles of its private roads and access to many rivers, lakes and ponds to all who had a small boat or canoe.

Following this belief, Sappi worked with Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to establish free public access to Spencer Lake, including providing a suitable logging road to the launch site. This boat ramp was essential for access as the lowered water level made another site unusable. It’s unfortunate this open public access is no longer available.

James W. Pinkerton

Madison