State Sen. John Martin’s bill to make the present Allagash access points permanent and “legal” appears to be just what outdoorsmen want. However, the outdoorsmen I know don’t mind driving farther and working harder to get to a remote spot which promises good fishing and a wilderness experience.

So what might be another, and hidden, purpose behind Martin’s bill? Many Allagash Wilderness Waterway access points also have bridges. Over these bridges flow a great deal of paper company traffic. So, perhaps the real reason for Martin’s Allagash access bill is to keep it cheap and easy for the paper companies to get their logs to the mill. Of course, the many trucks thundering over the bridges and raising clouds of dust ruin the wilderness experience.

But who cares? I do, and so do many other Maine people. From now on, we’re going to look for the hidden agenda in everything Martin proposes for the waterway.

Paul Shanley

Eddington