DoomsdaysCW<p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MDOT" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MDOT</span></a> Plans New <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SearsIsland" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>SearsIsland</span></a> Road and Rail Access Corridor Through Current <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ConservationLand" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ConservationLand</span></a></p><p>Published by<br /><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/allianceforsearsisland" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>allianceforsearsisland</span></a> </p><p>on May 23, 2024</p><p>"Can we hold the Maine Department of Transportation accountable for bull-dozing their way toward developing Sears Island and industrializing <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PenobscotBay" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PenobscotBay</span></a>, along the way breaking promises, rewriting environmental protection law, changing the Sears Island conservation easement, withholding from the public important development costs and impacts and avoiding open, honest, transparent public involvement?</p><p>"We might be tempted to begin our list of facts illustrating MDOT’s abuse of authority and public trust with the illegal filling of Sears Island <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/wetlands" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>wetlands</span></a> and construction of the causeway, apparently in violation of its permit, in the 1980’s. But let’s keep to the more recent offshore wind record of broken promises and undisclosed development activity. </p><p>"During the Governor’s announcement in February, [<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GovJanetMills" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>GovJanetMills</span></a>] claimed, without supporting data, that Sears Island development 'will cost less' and 'is expected to result in less environmental harm' than would development of a state-owned but privately operated offshore wind facility at Mack Point.</p><p>"The 'cost less' assertion raised major questions not yet answered in part because, a few months earlier, at the last OSWPAG meeting, we were told, 'The total project cost for construction is very similar for both MP ($460 Million Total Project Cost) and SI ($470 Million Total Project Cost).'</p><p>"Sears Island’s current <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/undeveloped" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>undeveloped</span></a>, natural condition, provides important ecological services to the region and state, especially for fisheries, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CarbonSequestration" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>CarbonSequestration</span></a> and publicly accessible recreation. <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MackPoint" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MackPoint</span></a> does not provide these ecological services. According to a reliable source, every acre of intact Sears Island forest locks up between 80 and 100 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year – <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CO2" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>CO2</span></a> that cannot harm our <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/climate" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>climate</span></a>.</p><p>"Developing Sears Island proposes removing all vegetation and life from more than 100 acres on Sears Island, nearly one-third of which is existing or historical <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/wetland" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>wetland</span></a>, and then harvesting 1.4 million cubic yards of soil to create an impermeable, nearly level work area. Doing so constitutes radical, permanent, irreparable ecological damage, forever eliminating current upland and associated marine <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/environmental" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>environmental</span></a> benefits. This exactly flips an appropriate climate-change response and dramatically undermines any claim that developing Sears Island instead of Mack Point represents the least environmentally damaging choice.</p><p>Broken Promises</p><p>"In 2007, the state promised to choose <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MackPoint" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MackPoint</span></a> as the preferred location for future marine transportation development. The Sears Island agreement, signed by 38 stakeholders including the Maine Department of Transportation, and adopted as state policy by then-Governor Baldacci and the State of Maine’s Joint Standing Committee on Transportation, says: 'Mack Point shall be given preference as an alternative to port development on Sears Island.'</p><p>"The Sears Island agreement also committed the State of Maine from ever harvesting soil from the island. Ever. Not one cubic yard of soil would be harvested and certainly not 1.4 million cubic yards of soil!</p><p>Sadly, the Governor’s announcement and subsequent actions taken by MDOT toward developing Sears Island render the promises made in 2007 by our government worthless.</p><p>Broken Laws</p><p>"But highly questionable governmental actions in pursuit of developing Sears Island continue. In March this year the Governor brought forward the sand dune bill that allows violation of sand <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/dune" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>dune</span></a> system protections on Sears Island and creates a dangerous threat in the future for any environmental law that may interfere with MDOT development aspirations. Though initially failing to pass in the House, the bill eventually became law after strong political pressure.</p><p>New Sears Island Road and Rail Corridor</p><p>"And now we come to the MDOT application for a federal grant specifically to develop Sears Island. Nestled within several documents associated with the grant application is page 2 of a two-drawing file titled, Sears Island Wind Port Concept Drawing 2024-04-29, copy attached or available at <a href="https://www.maine.gov/mdot/grants/infra/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="">maine.gov/mdot/grants/infra/</span><span class="invisible"></span></a>.</p><p>"The illustration depicts a new 'heavy load' access road and rail corridor as part of Sears Island development plans for the first time, at least in public.</p><p>"As proposed, the new approximately 2,300-foot-long rail and road access corridor passes through a thickly wooded portion of the island, crossing at least two perennial streams and disturbing additional wetlands along the way. Assuming a 100-foot width, the corridor would destroy more than 5.25 acres of intact natural landscape, in addition to the more than 100-acre upland ecological destruction at the facility site proper.</p><p>"Adding insult to injury, the proposed new road and rail corridor requires changing the conservation easement boundary in the vicinity.</p><p>"<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FriendsOfSearsIsland" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>FriendsOfSearsIsland</span></a> Vice President Rolf Olsen received confirmation of the new road and rail access plan from Kay Rand in response to his query. Rand also substantiated that the new access corridor would cross a portion of the conservation parcel and necessitate a change in that parcel’s boundary.</p><p>"According to budget information included with the grant application, clearing, grubbing, excavation and borrow, grading, drainage, erosion control, paving and other work related to this access corridor will add $8 million to the cost of developing Sears Island. Mack Point already provides both a heavy load road and rail.</p><p>"The new Sears Island rail and road access corridor presents yet another failure by MDOT to incorporate an honest understanding of climate change into decision-making. As MDOT fiddles for federal grant money to pursue a mega facility on Sears Island, the Earth tilts toward catastrophic climate change.</p><p>"I will venture the opinion that, had the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MillsAdministration" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MillsAdministration</span></a> and MDOT focused offshore wind port research on Mack Point as promised in March 2020 (see attached press release), as promised in the Sears Island Planning Initiative, and as the historical record certainly suggests is the rational approach, including deeply exploring development possibilities there with <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SpragueEnergy" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>SpragueEnergy</span></a>, they might already have secured permits and seen construction begun.<br /> <br /><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Accountability" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Accountability</span></a> Now</p><p>"End the insulting double-speak. With honor and integrity, not intrigue and obfuscation, open-up and bring the full spectrum of facts to this decision. Accountability now!"</p><p>Steve Miller</p><p><a href="https://allianceforsearsisland.org/2024/05/23/mdot-plans-new-sears-island-road-and-rail-access-corridor-though-current-conservation-land/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">allianceforsearsisland.org/202</span><span class="invisible">4/05/23/mdot-plans-new-sears-island-road-and-rail-access-corridor-though-current-conservation-land/</span></a> </p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WindTerminal" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>WindTerminal</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SandDunes" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>SandDunes</span></a><br /><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Searsport" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Searsport</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AllianceForSearsIsland" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>AllianceForSearsIsland</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ProtectWahsumkik" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ProtectWahsumkik</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MackPoint" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MackPoint</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Wahsumkik" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Wahsumkik</span></a><br /><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EndangeredSpecies" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>EndangeredSpecies</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ProtectTheDunes" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ProtectTheDunes</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GovernorJanetMills" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>GovernorJanetMills</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WabanakiAlliance" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>WabanakiAlliance</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CulturalGenocide" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>CulturalGenocide</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EnvironmentalRacism" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>EnvironmentalRacism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PenobscotNation" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PenobscotNation</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Passamaquoddy" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Passamaquoddy</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ProtectTheForest" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ProtectTheForest</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CorporateColonialism" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>CorporateColonialism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Wassumkeag" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Wassumkeag</span></a></p>
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DoomsdaysCW<p>Just like when the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Maine" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Maine</span></a> public voted AGAINST the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CMPCorridor" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>CMPCorridor</span></a> through the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NorthWoods" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>NorthWoods</span></a>! </p><p>Public feedback process for decision on <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/OffshoreWind" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>OffshoreWind</span></a> port a charade, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/environmentalists" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>environmentalists</span></a> claim </p><p>State officials are accused of long favoring <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SearsIsland" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>SearsIsland</span></a>, the largest undeveloped island in <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PenobscotBay" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PenobscotBay</span></a>, as the future site of the port.</p><p> Author: Kate Cough of The Maine Monitor<br />Published: 12:51 PM EDT August 14, 2023 </p><p>PORTLAND, Maine — "Environmentalists are decrying a year-long process meant to gather public feedback on where to build a <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/deepwater" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>deepwater</span></a> offshore wind port, calling it a 'charade.'</p><p>"They say state officials failed to adequately engage the public or <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/tribal" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>tribal</span></a> communities and effectively decided where to construct the port long before the process began.</p><p>"The Maine Department of Transportation [<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MDOT" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MDOT</span></a>]has been making an internal case for Sears Island while 'giving an illusion of an impartial analysis of port possibilities to the public,' said <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MattCannon" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MattCannon</span></a>, the state conservation and energy director for <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SierraClubMaine" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>SierraClubMaine</span></a>, in comments at the final meeting of the Offshore Wind Port Advisory Group. </p><p>"'Some,' he said, 'see it as a breach of public trust.'</p><p>"State officials have said they’re considering several locations for the 100-acre port, including <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Eastport" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Eastport</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MackPoint" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MackPoint</span></a> and Sears Island, and don’t expect to choose a final location until next year. The officials insist they have not made a final decision.</p><p>"But participants in the process, which began in May 2022, say the state has long advocated for Sears Island, the largest <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/undeveloped" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>undeveloped</span></a> island in Penobscot Bay.</p><p>"They believe officials have not seriously considered other options for the port, which would be the staging area for equipment needed to build and maintain <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Windturbines" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Windturbines</span></a> in federal waters in the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GulfOfMaine" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>GulfOfMaine</span></a>.</p><p>"Those suspicions hardened after documents released via a public records request submitted by <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/IslesboroIslandsTrust" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>IslesboroIslandsTrust</span></a> earlier this year revealed internal discussions seeming to indicate an official preference for the island. <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FriendsOfSearsIsland" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>FriendsOfSearsIsland</span></a> manages the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/trails" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>trails</span></a> on the conserved portion of the island.</p><p>"The documents included a '<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Stakeholder" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Stakeholder</span></a> Management Plan' written by state-hired consultant Kay Rand. The document said the goals were, in part, to 'develop and execute a stakeholder outreach strategy that would enable <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GovernorJanetMills" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>GovernorJanetMills</span></a> to … announce a commitment to pursue development of Sears Island as the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RenewableEnergy" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>RenewableEnergy</span></a> Port of the Northeast.'</p><p>"The document is dated Sept. 8, 2021 — eight months before the stakeholder group held its first meeting — and mentions pursuing Sears Island as the port at least four times."</p><p>Read more:<br /><a href="https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/tech/science/environment/sears-island-environmental-deepwater-offshore-wind-port-public-feedback-process/97-dbdb520a-b539-43ad-98b0-44cba9ec751c" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">newscentermaine.com/article/te</span><span class="invisible">ch/science/environment/sears-island-environmental-deepwater-offshore-wind-port-public-feedback-process/97-dbdb520a-b539-43ad-98b0-44cba9ec751c</span></a></p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Environment" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Environment</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EndangeredSpecies" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>EndangeredSpecies</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ProtectSearsIsland" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ProtectSearsIsland</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WindTerminal" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>WindTerminal</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SandDunes" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>SandDunes</span></a><br /><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Searsport" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Searsport</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ProtectWahsumkik" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ProtectWahsumkik</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Wahsumkik" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Wahsumkik</span></a><br /><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EndangeredSpecies" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>EndangeredSpecies</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ProtectTheDunes" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ProtectTheDunes</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WabanakiAlliance" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>WabanakiAlliance</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Wassumkeag" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Wassumkeag</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CorporateColonialism" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>CorporateColonialism</span></a></p>
DoomsdaysCW<p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SandDune" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>SandDune</span></a> Vote:<br />Some Tribal Perspectives on<br />Proposed Wind Port on <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Wahsumkik" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Wahsumkik</span></a> </p><p>“..For both <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Wabanaki" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Wabanaki</span></a> people and non Wabanaki people...It has a great amount of history. It's ecologically sensitive and important to the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ecosystem" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ecosystem</span></a> of our coast...” - Darren Ranco,<br />PhD, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Penobscot" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Penobscot</span></a> Citizen, Professor at the University of Maine, MITSC Commissioner, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Maine" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Maine</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ClimateCouncil" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ClimateCouncil</span></a> committee member.</p><p>April, 2024</p><p>"Sears Island (known also by the Penobscot name Wahsumkik) is the largest <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/undeveloped" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>undeveloped</span></a> island within the state and one of the largest on the eastern seaboard, and considered important to <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BirdMigration" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>BirdMigration</span></a>. Construction of a wind port operation would require the destruction of 70 acres of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/forest" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>forest</span></a> and would impact a yet to be assessed area of marine eel grass. The destruction of a sand dune was<br />reportedly missed in a first assessment of the site, thus prompting the Governor's bill."</p><p><a href="https://allianceforsearsisland.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/tribal-perspective.pdf" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">allianceforsearsisland.org/wp-</span><span class="invisible">content/uploads/2024/04/tribal-perspective.pdf</span></a> </p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ProtectSearsIsland" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ProtectSearsIsland</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WindTerminal" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>WindTerminal</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SandDunes" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>SandDunes</span></a><br /><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Searsport" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Searsport</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ProtectWahsumkik" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ProtectWahsumkik</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MackPoint" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MackPoint</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Wahsumkik" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Wahsumkik</span></a><br /><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EndangeredSpecies" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>EndangeredSpecies</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ProtectTheDunes" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ProtectTheDunes</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GovernorJanetMills" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>GovernorJanetMills</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WabanakiAlliance" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>WabanakiAlliance</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CulturalGenocide" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>CulturalGenocide</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EnvironmentalRacism" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>EnvironmentalRacism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PenobscotNation" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PenobscotNation</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Passamaquoddy" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Passamaquoddy</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ProtectTheForest" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ProtectTheForest</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CorporateColonialism" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>CorporateColonialism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Wassumkeag" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Wassumkeag</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WednesdaysForWildlife" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>WednesdaysForWildlife</span></a></p>
DoomsdaysCW<p>Full article:</p><p>A mid-November meeting in Searsport brought together various conservatives, liberals, Native American leaders and environmentalists who all believe Maine should not use Sears Island to build a large offshore wind port.</p><p>The odd alliance, ranging from Rep. Aaron Dana of the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Passamaquoddy" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Passamaquoddy</span></a> Tribe to former Gov. Paul LePage’s energy advisor, at the Nov. 18 meeting organized by Rep. Reagan Paul, R-Winterport, highlights the tricky politics coloring the project key to Maine’s climate goals. </p><p>Paul, 24, a self-described “Christian constitutional conservative,” and Rep. Lynne Williams, 73, a Bar Harbor Democrat and lawyer who said she and Paul are “polar opposites on most issues,” are part of the contingent against using Sears Island for a deepwater wind port for different reasons.</p><p>Paul opposes offshore wind in general while Williams, who sought the Maine Green Independent Party nomination for governor in 2010, views nearby Mack Point as the better location.</p><p>At the same time, Searsport’s town manager, an ex-Republican lawmaker, believes the opposition is shortsighted and ignores the wind project’s potential economic and environmental benefits. The wind port location will not get chosen until 2024, per state officials.</p><p>Paul said the meeting showed “we are more than the R or D behind our names.”</p><p>“We are Mainers and neighbors who can bring communities together one conversation at a time,” she said Friday.</p><p>Although Maine considered four locations for the port, or not building it at all, Mack Point and Sears Island are the two contenders. Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, announced the deepwater port plan in 2021 after unveiling a broader offshore wind initiative in 2019. The Maine Department of Transportation is leading the project.</p><p>DOT spokesperson Paul Merrill said Maine’s other deepwater ports in Portland and Eastport were initially considered but taken off the table due to lacking enough land with tide access and the large amount of rock and earth removal required to create a flat 100-acre site, respectively.</p><p>Environmentalists have complained the state has long preferred building it on Sears Island rather than on nearby, privately owned Mack Point. While Merrill acknowledged Mack Point’s challenges include dredging and an existing rail line, he said the DOT is “committed to continuing discussions” with all sides and that each site has a cost estimate between $400 million to $500 million. Mack Point would cost additional money to lease since the DOT does not own that land, Merrill added.</p><p>The 941-acre <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SearsIsland" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>SearsIsland</span></a>, the largest <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/undeveloped" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>undeveloped</span></a> island in Penobscot Bay, is connected to the mainland by a causeway and is located off the coast of Searsport, the Route 1 town of about 2,600 residents. The state owns the island, though Native Americans who called it Wassumkeag, or “bright sand beach,” used it over thousands of years for camping, hunting, fishing and resting along paddling routes.</p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MaineCoastHeritageTrust" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MaineCoastHeritageTrust</span></a> holds roughly 600 acres under a 2007 conservation easement, with 330 acres reserved as a “transportation parcel” for potential use as a cargo and container port, according to <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FriendsOfSearsIsland" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>FriendsOfSearsIsland</span></a>, a volunteer-run nonprofit that manages the island’s conserved area.</p><p>The wind port debate is significant to Maine’s goal of reaching 80 percent renewable energy by 2030 and 100 percent clean energy by 2040. The Maine Climate Council released an annual report Friday showing renewable energy use is now at 51 percent.</p><p>Mills also aims to procure 3,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Maine by 2040, with several onshore wind projects advancing slowly and with some public pushback as well. </p><p>A University of Maine researcher said it will cost up to $10 billion to reach Maine’s goal of 3,000 megawatts of offshore power but noted long-term savings and benefits over continued fossil-fuel dependence.</p><p>The Alliance for Sears Island, made up of conservation groups and citizens, wants the wind port built on nearby Mack Point, noting its existing development and “historical coal and oil-based working waterfront” that handles cargo vessels.</p><p>Paul said while the “fight to protect Sears Island” is “nonpartisan,” she criticized Democrats in Augusta for pushing wind projects and potentially making Sears Island “the next natural resource to be offered up to be sacrificed.”</p><p>Williams differs from Paul over renewable energy initiatives, but the two agree Mack Point is the better choice. Williams said Transportation Commissioner Bruce Van Note will face “incredible pushback” if Sears Island is chosen and that protesters may risk arrest by holding “sleep-ins” on the island.</p><p>An advisory group featuring government, conservation and business representatives met between March 2022 and this summer to discuss how Maine could add to the nation's two existing offshore wind farms off Rhode Island and Virginia.<br />The state aims to build massive hulls to steady the tall blade structures at an onshore port to lessen risks from shipping large components out to sea for assembly. The port would require clearing 100 acres for the main terminal along with expanding road access and parking.</p><p>Friends of Sears Island said one-third of the island would be “changed forever” if used for the wind port, with other speakers at the recent meeting arguing not only land but also marine habitat would suffer. Additionally, opponents said accompanying noise and lights on the western shore would disturb the island’s hiking and birding opportunities that draw international visitors.</p><p>Rolf Olsen, Friends of Sears Island’s vice president, said local residents have successfully opposed plans spanning decades to develop the area, such as an effort about 10 years ago to build a 22 million-gallon liquid propane storage tank in Searsport. A “traffic counter” last used on the island in 2021 recorded about 16,800 cars visiting during summer months, he said.</p><p>“I believe there is a faction of people in the DOT that wants Sears Island developed come hell or high water,” Olsen, who served on the offshore wind advisory group, said.</p><p>Though he disagrees with many of Paul’s conservative views on issues such as abortion and guns, Olsen appreciated hearing from her and others “representing the entire political spectrum” at the November meeting.</p><p>David Italiaander, a Searsport resident and international agricultural commodity trading consultant, said most speakers “were cogent, poignant and compelling.”</p><p>“Politics does make for strange bedfellows,” Italiaander said.<br />Still, not all residents and officials agree on ruling out Sears Island. Searsport Town Manager James Gillway, who co-chaired the advisory group and was a Republican state representative from 2010 to 2018, said the state’s process has been “open” and University of Maine researchers have worked to “finetune” Maine’s offshore wind potential.</p><p>Gillway attended Paul’s meeting and said many attendees were not from the Searsport area but tried to make “emotional” arguments. (Paul pushed back and said her sign-in sheets show most attendees were from Searsport and other Waldo County towns.)</p><p>“One gentleman mentioned dumping offshore wind blades in the ocean,” Gillway added. “That kind of conjecture is not very helpful to the conversation.”</p><p>Despite hurdles involving logistics, costs and public skepticism, Gillway said the offshore wind port could lead to numerous benefits for the Searsport area.</p><p>“Our region’s been suffering since the Bucksport paper mill closed,” Gillway said. “This has the promise to replace all of that and then some.”</p>
DoomsdaysCW<p>Opinion: <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GorhamConnector" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>GorhamConnector</span></a> plan threatens river <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Ecosystem" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Ecosystem</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HeritageTrout" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>HeritageTrout</span></a></p><p>Building a new road along the banks of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RedBrook" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>RedBrook</span></a> will render barren a unique stretch of riparian <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/shoreline" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>shoreline</span></a> – with all the adverse consequences you might expect.</p><p>by C. Ian Stevenson<br />February 27, 2024</p><p>"While proponents tout the toll-road Gorham Connector as promising to shorten commutes and relieve traffic pressure in <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GreaterPortlandMaine" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>GreaterPortlandMaine</span></a>, there has already been substantial pushback to the concept. Regardless of how much (or for how long) travel-based advantage the new roadway might bring, as proposed it will have pronounced, unambiguously negative effects to the area.</p><p>"Maine is known for its sense of place. Many components contribute to what makes the state unique and desirable. Among these is the built environment, such as the 13th-generation Smiling Hill Farm in Westbrook, which the proposed route threatens to erode, if not entirely extinguish, as an economically viable vestige of Maine’s once robust agricultural heritage. Others have amply sounded the alarm about this issue.</p><p>"But the route introduces other threats to the more naturalistic landscape. Starting at <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SmilingHillFarm" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>SmilingHillFarm</span></a> and running south-southeasterly to I-295 is a five-mile section of Red Brook that mostly nestles in <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DenseForest" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>DenseForest</span></a>. Between County Road and Running Hill Road, in particular, Red Brook occupies one of the few contiguous <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/undeveloped" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>undeveloped</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Riverine" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Riverine</span></a> stretches in <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SouthernMaine" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>SouthernMaine</span></a>. While unassuming in scale, Red Brook is nevertheless remarkable for supporting one of the last remaining native populations of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BrookTrout" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>BrookTrout</span></a> in this part of the state.</p><p>"The proposed road will immediately abut the river, sitting nearly on its banks, for as much as a mile south of the County Road Interchange. This will degrade habitat, destroying the trees whose overhanging foliage provides shade and cooling effects for these temperature-sensitive fish and creates shelter from predators. It will make barren riparian shoreline that supports the aquatic and terrestrial insects that provide the primary trout food sources. The road itself will also contribute oil, salt and other <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/runoff" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>runoff</span></a> to the river, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/polluting" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>polluting</span></a> the water. As a result of these factors, this connector will likely <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/exterminate" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>exterminate</span></a> this population of brook trout.</p><p>"Why should we care about a small river and its brook trout? Although this is not the official state fish, the fishing community widely considers it the prize species to catch, with so-called wild populations assuming even more cherished status. Brook trout provide a link across generations and cultural traditions and belong to everyone. Human inhabitants of Maine – from the original <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Wabanaki" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Wabanaki</span></a> to European colonists to modern Americans – have been catching these 'native' fish for millennia. Other parts of Maine, especially further north and west, have healthy native brook trout fisheries, making Maine highly regarded nationally as a destination to catch them.</p><p>"The fact that Red Brook, in the heart of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GreaterPortland" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>GreaterPortland</span></a>, belongs to this orbit is no small feat. Most of the area’s waterways have already succumbed to habitat loss, development, predatory introduced species, warming temperatures and increased flooding due to <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ClimateChange" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ClimateChange</span></a>. Red Brook provides an opportunity for future <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Mainers" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Mainers</span></a> who might not have access to brook trout streams further afield to enjoy this natural amenity. Even if you do not care about fishing, this road promises to annihilate a population of one of our state’s heritage species, as well as its scenic habitat that also contributes to <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Maine" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Maine</span></a>’s sense of place.</p><p>"<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PeterMills" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PeterMills</span></a>, the executive director of the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MaineTurnpikeAuthority" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MaineTurnpikeAuthority</span></a>, claims his organization has 'gone to great lengths to minimize impacts to Red Brook,' but clearly it hasn’t gone far enough under the current proposal. There are yet solutions.</p><p>"Citizens can express concerns at a hearing planned for March or via the Maine Turnpike Authority’s online portal. If the connector is to be built, planners need to re-route to establish a buffer zone between the connector and river – even a few hundred feet would have a positive impact. While less ideal than a complete reworking of the route, this would at least retain the primary shoreline flora and fauna and allow for run-off infrastructure. And we could re-route the road to save Smiling Hill Farm at the same time. Or better yet, we could re-consider the whole project’s merit entirely."</p><p>Source:<br /><a href="https://www.pressherald.com/2024/02/27/opinion-gorham-connector-plan-threatens-river-ecosystem-heritage-trout/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">pressherald.com/2024/02/27/opi</span><span class="invisible">nion-gorham-connector-plan-threatens-river-ecosystem-heritage-trout/</span></a></p><p>MTA website (make your opinion known!):<br /><a href="https://www.maineturnpike.com/Projects/Planning/Gorham-Connector.aspx" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">maineturnpike.com/Projects/Pla</span><span class="invisible">nning/Gorham-Connector.aspx</span></a> </p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WorkingFarms" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>WorkingFarms</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Sprawl" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Sprawl</span></a><br /><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GorhamSpur" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>GorhamSpur</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/InducedDemand" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>InducedDemand</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GorhamConnector" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>GorhamConnector</span></a><br /><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Wetlands" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Wetlands</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Meadows" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Meadows</span></a><br /><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EnvironmentalImpact" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>EnvironmentalImpact</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Extinction" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Extinction</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Ecosystem" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Ecosystem</span></a><br /><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SaveSmilingHillFarm" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>SaveSmilingHillFarm</span></a><br /><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SaveTheWoods" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>SaveTheWoods</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SaveTheFarms" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>SaveTheFarms</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Maine" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Maine</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Wetlands" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Wetlands</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Woods" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Woods</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LessCars" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>LessCars</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MoreLightRail" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>MoreLightRail</span></a></p>
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