It is good news that the Department of Conservation has joined the discussion on the future of Sears Island. The department, which oversees the state’s parks and public lands, will bring a new perspective to the debate over the best use for the large island. This, however, does not mean that the Department of Transportation should no longer be involved in deciding how the island is used. Nor does it mean that the entire island is likely to become a nature preserve.

Supporters of both preservation and development should keep in mind that there is room for both on the 940-acre island. Just because the Conservation Department has suggested that a network of trails could be built on the island does not mean there won’t be a cargo port or other development elsewhere.

What is ironic about the current enthusiasm for the Conservation Department’s ideas is that the transportation commissioner has been saying the same things for years. Under the past administration the DOT made it clear that, as the owner of the island, it would decide what happened there. The current administration has taken a different stance and David Cole, the current DOT commissioner, has long talked about multiple uses for the sprawling island.

Because area residents are wary of transportation officials, bringing a new department into the discussion should move things forward. Conservation Commissioner Pat McGowan has said his department will help with maps and plans for the island. What the department can’t do, but some area residents have suggested, is afford to take over ownership or management of the entire parcel.

Commissioner McGowan has suggested that a volunteer group, like the Friends of Fort Knox, manage the recreational portion of the island. This would have the added benefit of showing who is truly serious about having a stake in the future of the island and who wants the state’s taxpayers to pick up the tab so they can have a private playground.

A Searsport committee on the future of the island is meeting regularly. Committee members say, in the wake of the Department of Conservation’s involvement, they now feel freer to think creatively about its future. This is a positive development after years of animosity and inaction.

Their emphasis should be on looking at a mixture of uses. As members of the committee have pointed out, generating some revenue for the town from the island would be a benefit. That may come from a transportation project, a guest lodge, a trail network, campground or all of them. The Penobscot Nation has expressed an interest in developing and running a cultural center on the island.

Because there is nothing to call a visitor’s attention to it, the island is largely passed by and contributes little to the local economy. A cultural center and trails could draw people, and their money, to the island. With the proper facilities, such as high-quality guest quarters and guided kayak trips around the island and bay, they may even stay for awhile. If an entity that created a significant number of jobs – such as a research center – was added to the mix, so much the better.

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