I got a telephone call one day from Les Otten, owner of Sunday River Ski Resort. He wanted to know if I could meet him at his office. When I arrived he was on the telephone heavily engaged in a telephone conservation concerning the sale of several new condominiums being constructed on the mountain. Twenty-five years ago, a few hundred thousand dollars was a lot of money. I waited.

Les wanted to know if I was interested in building on an addition to one of his ski lodges. We walked around the building and peered under a deck where the addition would go, both of us raising several questions about the existing structure. Soon, with Les in his work clothes (dress slacks and dress shirt) and I in mine (grubs), we were both crawling on our bellies through the dust, gravel, weeds, debris and just about everything else one might have the pleasure of finding under a heavily traveled ski lodge deck. I did make a couple of comments about our adventure but I’ll refrain from posting them here.

I’ve told that story more than one time but as I was thinking more about it this morning after getting off the phone with Les, that action actually is a pretty good characterization of him. Here’s a man who could have sat in the comfort of his clean office but instead did not hesitate to roll up his sleeves and get dirty.

I’ve known Les for perhaps 30-plus years and during that time he has given unselfishly to his community. Time and space will not permit the endless list of how he has impacted the people in his home town and surrounding area.

Les Otten is a businessman who understands many things, among them tourism, promotion, marketing, investment, providing a viable product and operating within a budget. Whoever resides in the Blaine House will face daunting tasks and challenges. I believe he is up for the challenge and can put together the right people to make it all happen.

One huge undertaking will be the financial shortfall of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, a depleted whitetail deer herd, an overgrown population of coyotes and other predators, and environmental groups eager to make a living serving up lawsuits to stop hunting, trapping and fishing. The hunting, fishing, trapping and general outdoor recreation brings millions of dollars into Maine each year. The next governor has got to find a way to tidy up fish and game and make sure that those running it are in sync with the mission.

True to character, Otten will “roll up his sleeves and get dirty” on this issue.

All of the United States is at a crossroad. Things are changing and many of us don’t care for the direction it is going. If there’s one weapon we have as free Americans it is the right to vote. That’s where we can begin to push back.

Outdoor sportsmen can be independent people. We love to be outside, in the forests, on the water, enjoying the peace and quiet and the beauty God gave us. But to protect that, we have to give a bit more than we take sometimes. I’m asking every sportsman in Maine to make it a point to vote on June 8, 2010. Vote for the candidate(s) that you believe best represent your ideals. Finding the right people is extremely important at every level of government. Don’t wait to see who comes out on top. Be the one who puts your candidate at the top.

Tom Remington

Maine’s Senator David Trahan began an effort to put a stop to the proposal to require Maine residents to purchase a salt water fishing license. You can read more about that here.

The proposal for the license claimed that the license was a way to collect and track data from fishermen who use the resource. Sen. Trahan has come up with an alternative proposal to a license and he needs your help.

The Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine has teamed up with Senator Trahan to promote this alternative. The New England Outdoor Voice has provided a site where you can read a letter that is being sent to the Joint Committee on Marine Resources asking them to consider Trahan’s proposal and why.

If you would like to read the letter and sign you name to send, click this link.

Tom Remington

Barbara Merrill, indepent candidate for Maine Governor, has sent me her answers to the six questions posed to four of the candidates about hunting, fishing and the outdoors in Maine. The original questions, exactly as they were presented to the candidates are posted followed immediately by her responses.

In her answers, she expresses willingness to participate in further discussions with readers of this blog and enlists some of your input as well. Comments are open and readers are encouraged to leave comments and/or ask further questions. I will forward any questions on to her but I have no guarantees that they will be answered……..Get the answers at the Black Bear Blog.

Tom Remington

The first to respond with answers to six questions posed by the Black Bear Blog and Maine Hunting Today in an online interview, is the Republican candidate for Governor Chandler Woodcock. You can read the questions and the responses given. It is all open for public discussion. Please click here.

Tom Remington

Well, it has been many years now since we fought and lost the battle over the Edwards Dam at Augusta. I remember all of the sales pitch on how the Atlantic Salmon would return to pre 1900 levels in just a few short years but I couldn’t seem to find anyone at the Atlantic Salmon booth at the Augusta Sportsman’s Show today who could remember those words! Heck, the kids running that booth today said they had never seen one alive!

As near as I can figure, the Atlantic Salmon are still protected by the Endangered Species Act, and the American Shad, Sturgeon and others are still nowhere near the numbers promised by the folks who fought to remove the dam.

I do know this, the removal of the Edwards Dam has not done much good for the fishery as a whole. The quality of the largemouth and smallmouth bass fishing has diminished substantially since the removal and I have had to take my clients elsewhere most of the season.

The anti-dam people won their fight but did we all lose in the end? Maybe another ten years will tell a different story.

_________________
Jack Duggins
Master Maine Guide
www.mainelysmallmouth.com

As expected the debate yesterday about adding about 6,000 acres of land to Baxter State Park became heated and passionate, each side with their own strong views.

What appears to be shaping up as the dividing issue is how to use the land if and when it becomes part of the Park. Those pushing hardest for the deal say the 6,000 acres needs to become part of the sanctuary as set up with the vast majority of the rest of the Park, meaning limited access and limited use, locking out hunters, trappers, snowmobilers, ATV riders and seaplane access to Katahdin Lake.

On the other side, you have those who do not oppose adding the 6,000 acres providing it gives normal recreational access. Unfortunately for everyone, it appears to be shaping up as a we vs. them battle.

The deal which has been negotiated behind the scenes over the past 3 years, would allow a nationally based, non-profit organization called Trust for Public Land, to raise $14 million dollars to purchase lands, including about 7,400 acres of Maine public lands. The group would then swap their purchase with the 6,000 acre piece that includes Katahdin Lake, owned by Gardner Land Co. It’s a very complicated deal and because it involves public lands, the Maine Legislature would have to approve the sale by a 2/3 majority vote.

There are those passionate in taking advantage of this opportunity to fulfill what they call Governor Percival Baxter’s dream of including Katahdin Lake as part of the park project. They say his vision included both Katahdin Mountain and the Lake. Their passion seems strong enough that they are beginning to alienate themselves from the rest of Maine’s outdoor enthusiasts who want to see the land opened up to multi-use purposes of recreating. A definate divide has emerged between the two sides threatening the deal.

The deal as written would exclude certain uses of the park and any changes in the deal, including how the land will be used, would bring all sides back to the bargaining table to renegotiate.

Alfred Cooper, owner of Katahdin Lakes Camps, who attended the hearing yesterday said that he resented the fact that he is being treated as inferior because he likes to hunt and trap. He encouraged the Legislature to change the plan to safeguard traditional uses of the land.

The real divide that is growing rears its ugly head in comments made by John Glowa of South China when he said that hunters, trappers and snowmobilers don’t have a lock on Maine’s outdoors and outdoor heritage. He also said that being one of the 90 percent of Mainers who don’t hunt, he’s tired of the outdoor extremists trying to impose their wills on the rest of us.

These attitudes are what are becoming more and more prevalent across Maine as the make-up of the Maine citizen changes. It is changing for a couple of reasons, the biggest being the influx of out-of-state residents who do not enjoy the hunting, fishing and outdoor heritage in the same way that Maine natives do. This is creating the great divide. Fortunately for everyone, there are enough still around willing to fight for the continuation of that heritage. I say everyone in that I still feel the groups pushing for the exclusive, limited uses of the park lands is selfish and shortsighted.
The Millinocket town council presented the Legislature a resolution stating in essence that the town supported the purchase of the Baxter land as long as it remained open to traditional uses.

George Smith, Executive Director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, said hunters and trappers never exclude others the way some users are now. He said about those wanting to exclude hunting and trapping from the park, “They’re the newcomers to the wilderness. Hunters have been there for centuries. Why do these people think hunters don’t deserve the same experience, the same solitude? If Gov. Baxter were here today, he would stand with me.”

The debate will rage over the next few weeks as lawmakers try to find perhaps a compromise that will work. Many fear that as it is written, there is not enough support to get the deal passed.

I have made my voice clear that I am willing to compromise in having the state guarantee the purchase of the same amount of public lands lost in the swap that would provide the same quality traditional recreational uses as we are giving up. I think that is a fair and reasonable request. And, as a hunter, hiker and all around outdoor enthusiast, I would be willing to share that land with everyone.

Previous posts here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Tom Remington

Good morning! Today in the Maine Legislature, debate begins on the controversial Baxter State Park land swap issue. This podcast discusses many of those issues that I feel are extremely important to Maine taxpayers and fishermen and outdoor enthusiasts.

Tom Remington

*Note* If you do not have high speed Internet access, right click link and “save target as”

I encourage all readers to contact your legislators and let them know how you feel about the land swap deal involving Baxter State Park. If you are not up to speed on what is going on, the links below can enlightened you about the debate thus far.

Maine Outdoors Today, Maine Hunting Today and Maine Fishing Today, are opposed to the plan as it is written. The reason we feel this way is because the lands being swapped are not an even exchange. More than likely the land surrounding Katahdin Lake, once it becomes part of the Park, will be closed to hunting, trapping, snowmobiling and ATVs.

Full recreational use will not be allowed and the 7,400 acres of public lands will be lost. We hear promises that money earned from the sale of public land will be used to purchase more public land but there are no promises and this I find disturbing.

However you feel about the deal, contact your legislator and let them know. I think we need to look to the future for public lands and not at the moment. Proponents of this deal describe the loss of public land as “no big deal”. Attitudes of this kind are what has gotten states all across America in serious trouble with lack of public lands for recreation.

This link will take you to the Maine State Legislative home page. From there an easy navigation will help you find the Senator or Congressperson in your district. E-mail them and share your thoughts.

Previous posts here, here, here, here and here.

Tom Remington

Rex Turner, who writes columns for the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel and who is a member of Friends of Baxter State Park, has a piece today in the Morning Sentinel about the upcoming discussions concerning the land swap proposal that would add Katahdin Lake and about 6000 more acres to Baxter State Park.

While I am not opposed to adding 6000 acres to Baxter to further complete Governor Baxter’s dream, I am opposed to the manner in which it is being done. Turner begins his piece by stating that publicly owned land in Maine accounts for a meager 5% of the total land mass and he points out this is one of the lowest in the country.

Without getting too specific, the deal would take some of Maine public land and some private land and give it over to Gardner Land Co., owners of the Baxter Lake parcel, in exchange.

The problem with this concept is the loss of public land. This is not a clean exchange of land use for land use. The public land would fall back into the ownership of Gardner Land Co. and the 6000 acres adjacent to Baxter would become part of the Park and closed to many outdoor activities – hunting, trapping, snowmobiling, ATVs, motorized boats and logging operations.

Maine lags in much of the nation in providing public lands for recreation. Giving up a portion of this for the purpose of fulfilling one man’s dream might not be in the best interest of the citizens of Maine. As Turner says, they will soon decide.

I would like to see the proposal changed to include a commitment by the Maine Legislature to appropriate the necessary money to purchase enough public land to replace what is being lost to the Baxter land swap.

In Turner’s article he asks the question: “Is a 6,000-acre addition to Maine’s most iconic north woods park, managed per Gov. Baxter’s sanctuary principle, too much of a threat or loss to the hunting and snowmobiling community?”

To be able to answer that question, one needs to look at the entire picture which includes the future. I have pointed out several times already that Maine is lacking in providing public lands. This will come back to haunt the citizens in this state if this isn’t rectified soon. Our shrinking availability to land for recreation is dwindling every day. Taking away public land for the enlargement of Baxter Park the way it is proposed, is wrong.

Maine needs a bill that at least says that whatever dealings the state makes when bartering public lands, the result is a zero net loss. This proposal results in a loss of public lands. Today, the loss of that public land may not appear that great but look down the road. Even with the programs in place in Maine to purchase public lands, it is not happening at a fast enough pace.

I would suppose that I could ask a similar question to that of Mr. Turner. Is adding 6000 acres at the expense of losing the equivalent in public land too much of a threat or loss to Baxter State Park?

Time will tell. As stated by Mr. Turner, because the deal involves public land, the Maine Legislature would need to approve the swap by a 2/3 majority vote. I would encourage all Maine residents to contact their Representatives and tell them how you feel. In the meantime, would somebody please rewrite the proposal so that Maine would agree to purchase 6000 acres of more public land in exchange for what we will be losing?

That would let us all know that Maine citizens care not only about Baxter State Park but also the need for public lands.

Tom Remington

The below previously scheduled meeting and work session for February 14, 2006 has been canceled.

Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (287-1338)

1:00 PM Room 206, Cross State Office Building

L.D. 1967 WORK SESSION: CANCELLED An Act To Support Fishing Derbies (Emergency) (Sponsor: Sen. DIAMOND of Cumberland)

Tom Remington