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By SHELAGH TALBOT - GREENVILLE - Governor John Baldacci has established a task force to look at the changing face of land use in Maine, especially as it applies to traditional use. In the past, Maine was regarded as the kind of state that encouraged free access to land for recreational use, hunting, trapping and fishing. However, more and more large tracts of land are being sold and with their passage into private hands, traditional access is no longer being allowed in some instances. On Thursday, November 18 at 2 p.m. at the Louis Oakes Auditorium at Greenville High School, the task force will meet to discuss, among other things, historical access to land. One rather controversial figure who sits on the task force is Roxanne Quimby. Quimby has spent the last several years purchasing large parcels of land in order to conserve the properties in a “forever wild” state. As she has said in the past, the primary purpose is to protect sensitive natural resources while enabling low-impact public access and use. What this means to most folks is no hunting, no trapping, no snowmobiling, no ATVing and no motorized vehicles of any kind on her property. Those with leased properties on her land have, in a number of instances, been asked to leave or pay much higher rental fees if they stay. Tom McCormick, president of the Moosehead Riders Snowmobile Club said that attending the upcoming meeting is vital for those involved in the recreation industry. “The task force will be coming up with recommendations as to how to work in conjunction with landowners in regards to historic traditional access,” McCormick said. “Anyone with a stake in this should plan to attend.” John Simko, Greenville’s town manager, is a member of the task force, and he too encourages interested parties to attend. “It is not the same thing as a public hearing,” Simko said. “But the public is welcome to sit in on the discussions - it is a working meeting, however.” According to Bob Myers, Executive Director of the Maine Snowmobile Association, he had been at a previous task force meeting which took place at Shin Pond (Quimby had purchased a large parcel of land in that area). “I look at this next meeting as a good thing,” Myers said. “There is a new type of buyer interested in the Maine woods and not necessarily interested in preserving the traditional access that was historically honored. It is good that something is being done to look into it - the task force - but I’m not sure we need legislation to deal with the problem of access. Some legislative fixes in the past have resulted in unintended negative consequences,” he added. Working constructively with landowners that have been cooperative and helpful in the past is key, according to Myers. There had been a public comment session during the task force meeting at Shin Pond. “I expect we should have the same thing happening here at the Greenville meeting,” he said. |