The cost of including hunting access in a deal to preserve the land around Katahdin Lake continues to rise. Part of the complex transaction involved the state trying to buy a nearby 8,000-acre parcel. That is now in jeopardy after the owners rebuffed the state’s offer. If ensuring that the state owns this land is important to them, sportsmen should step in and raise some of the additional money, just as conservation groups have raised hundreds of millions of dollars to preserve land they deemed special.

Early last year, the state and the Trust for Public Lands reached agreement to acquire 6,000 acres around Katahdin Lake from Gardner Land Co. The land originally was to be added to Baxter State Park to be managed as a sanctuary, fulfilling Percival Baxter’s vision for the park he founded. The state also committed to buying land for hunting elsewhere. Because the deal included a swap involving public lands, which held down the total cost, the Legislature needed to approve it.

The Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine convinced several lawmakers to oppose the deal if hunting were not allowed everywhere on the Katahdin Lake parcel. A compromise was reached with the southern 4,000 acres around the lake going to Baxter and 2,000 acres in the north to be managed by the Bureau of Parks and Lands for hunting and other recreational uses. The Legislature approved the deal last spring.

The state also pledged to try to keep 8,000 acres near the lake open to sportsmen and other traditional uses. It obtained an option from Gardner Land Co. to buy the parcel, known as the Valley Lands.

Last week, it was revealed that the company had rejected the state’s offer to pay $6 million for the land. The land appraised for $6 million, according to state officials. Funds from the Land for Maine’s Future program have never been used to pay more than appraised value for land. The same is true of federal Forest Legacy Program funds in Maine.

With these restrictions, there are two options. The Gardner Land Co. can reconsider, especially given that it was aware of the appraised value restrictions when it gave the state the option to buy the land. The second is for private groups to raise all or some of the additional money the company is seeking (an amount that has yet to be disclosed).

Because this land is sought after by sportsmen, this is a good opportunity for them to contribute to its acquisition, just as conservationists have raised money to buy islands and major forest tracts to protect them from development.