Question 5 would provide the funding necessary to protect Maine’s hunting heritage.

I love this time of year. The air is crisp and cool, the hurried pace of summer and early fall is behind us, and deer hunting season has begun.

For those who don’t hunt, this may not mean very much. But, for those who do, you understand that deer hunting season is a time you look forward to all year. It is a chance to spend time catching up with friends and family, and a time to get out in the woods to enjoy Maine’s extraordinary natural areas and abundant wildlife.

That also makes it an appropriate time to encourage others to vote yes on Question 5 this Election Day.

Question 5 is a $12 million bond issue that will re-fund the state’s Land for Maine’s Future program. The program has been around for almost 20 years and has helped to secure access to some of the best places in the state to enjoy the outdoors. In our area, the Land for Maine’s Future Program has helped fund boat ramps and a swimming area at Round Pond and Long Pond in Livermore, land along Hooper Pond in Greene and more than 12 miles of frontage on the Androscoggin River in Turner. The program has protected our access to more than 150 great places to get out and enjoy the outdoors all over the state.

But, the program’s funds are now completely exhausted.

No one knows better than me how things have changed in Maine over the last few decades. I have been a pilot for more than 40 years, and there is no better way to see how Maine is changing than from a bird’s-eye view.

Don’t get me wrong, no one is going to call me a tree-hugger, and I think development is good for our local economy and the state. I just think that Mainers should be the ones making the decisions about what land gets developed and what land gets conserved.

I don’t want wealthy individuals from away, multinational corporations or national environmental groups deciding what happens in our state. If we want to decide what happens to our valuable natural resources, then we need to have money to offer to get a seat at the table.

The way I see it, the Land for Maine’s Future program gives us that seat. The program’s decisions are made by a board consisting of regular citizens from all over the state and the heads of our five natural resource agencies. There are public hearings before decisions are made on any project. This ensures that local citizens have a say in what happens to the land in their area. The public has no say when out-of-state interests buy up huge tracts of land and then do with it as they wish – they own the land, they have every right to cut off public access.

We have been lucky in Maine because you haven’t had to be wealthy enough to own large tracts of land to be able to enjoy Maine’s outdoor experience. In the past, most landowners have been generous enough to allow public access to their lands for hunting, fishing, snowmobiling and a whole array of outdoor activities. But times are changing.

If we want to ensure that Maine’s outdoor resources continue to be accessible to you and me and our kids and grandkids, and not just those wealthy enough to own land on our coast, ponds, rivers and woods, then we need to step up to the plate and continue to fund the Land for Maine’s Future program.

Dale Twitchell of Turner is an avid outdoorsman, co-owner of Twitchell’s Airport, father of three and grandfather of seven.

Copy the Story Link