Home for folks from away

There were two articles in the Bangor Daily News on Dec. 26 that seem to belie the opposition to our North Woods park (re: number of deer hunters down and Plum Creek exposed).

Gov. Angus King and his friends say they are opposed to our park because they don’t want to create a playground, in our North Woods, for people from away. Who do you think is going to buy those 89 house lots that Plum Creek is creating, some of the 50 percent of the woods workers who have already lost their jobs, or maybe some of the former Dexter Shoe workers? I’ll bet there won’t be any Mainers among the new residents.

By his lack of action, the governor will not be creating a playground for people from away, he will be creating a home for them. The same people will also be moving into the next 89 lots, and the next and the next. I hope you don’t think this trend is ever going to stop. Soon, all the large landowners will realize they can increase the payoff to their stockholders by 100 percent by emulating Plum Creek. It’s all about money and there is plenty of it outside of Maine to buy up our North Woods and it is going to be for sale. I doubt if the newest residents of the woods will want skidders or snowmobiles or Mainers cruising across their new back yards either.

The sportsmen have also been vocal in their opposition to our park, citing the loss of traditional hunting opportunities in the affected area. The article about the number of hunters in the proposed park tells us that number has been dropping steadily over the years (down 12 percent in a year) and now stands at 14,000. As that number continues to shrink, so does the significance of this reason.

There are more than a million people who would benefit from the park and 14,000 who would be deprived of their traditional hunting grounds. These 14,000 would benefit from the park as well as the rest of us, but they would have to drive to another location to hunt, perhaps to central or southern Maine where there actually are some deer. In the long run, it won’t matter. Do you think the 89 new residents of the North Woods, and all who follow, will allow hunting on their very own vacationland?

If you are depending on the easements we have purchased for millions of dollars to keep the situation under control, I hope you won’t be disappointed in a couple of generations when some smart, corporate lawyers convince some unbiased court that those agreements were unfair to their corporate clients. The court will find that the state took unfair advantage of the corporations and had no right to limit the corporations’ potential earnings without actual ownership of the land in question. They will probably fine us for our actions as well. If you think this is out of the question, remember recent Supreme Court decisions. The only way to protect our North Woods is to own it.

As the excuses for the opposition to the park fall to the wayside, the need for action becomes clearer. The problem also becomes more pressing with the sale of each of the first batch of 89 lots. If you oppose the park, it may be time for you to rethink your position before it’s too late.

Harlan Mclaughlin is a resident of Searsport.