Perhaps they will be remembered in Maine lore and legend as “Martin’s Marauders.”

In what appears to be an arrogant breach of law, state Sen. John Martin and state Rep. Troy Jackson used a bulldozer and chain saw to reopen a road into the Allagash Wilderness Waterway on July 4.

Noting the holiday, Martin told the Sun Journal it’s “probably a liberation day for the people of northern Maine.” While that line will certainly be a crowd-pleaser with his cronies in Aroostook County, the rest of the state should see this as the self-centered act of a cranky tyrant.

According to three Department of Conservation employees, Martin, Jackson and two other men used a bulldozer and chain saw to reopen the Old Michaud Farm Road, which had been closed as part of a 2003 agreement.

The two lawmakers undertook their vigilante road reopening because they weren’t happy working cooperatively with other users of the river. Like other vigilantes, they put themselves above the law so they could get their own way.

Cutting live trees or brush within the restricted zone around the river is prohibited, as is the possession or use of power saws. Of course, the statutes probably didn’t anticipate recreational users arriving on bulldozers.

As we’ve stated in this column many times before, Maine has hundreds of miles of rivers, and hundreds of places where vehicles and fishermen can put boats directly into those rivers.

And, since the 1966 Allagash Act, Mainers have consistently shown that they believe the Allagash is different, to be preserved as nearly as possible in a wild state and protected from overuse.

The goal is to provide a wild river experience, and that means limiting motor vehicles, chain saws, crossings and, yes, bulldozers.

That limited access has been seriously eroded over the years, most recently during the last legislative session when a bill sweeping aside years of careful consideration and compromise on the Allagash locked in motorized vehicle access at 11 sites, including six places where cars and trucks can go right to the water and 19 access points for snowmobiles.

But Martin and Troy’s astonishing July 4 raid cannot be condoned or tolerated. We trust the Department of Conservation will apply the laws and rules that pertain to the waterway with the same zeal they reserve for campers who flout the river’s rules.

Secondly, we hope the department will immediately erect a locked gate at the site.

Finally, we hope Gov. John Baldacci and legislative leaders will speak clearly and forcefully against Martin and Troy. If they believe in the democratic process and rule of law, they will denounce Martin and Troy’s July 4 sneak attack on the Allagash.