Sears Island group dividing into two camps
By Tom Groening
Friday, November 10, 2006 - Bangor Daily News
SEARSPORT - The two camps that have emerged on the 42-member Sears Island planning committee stood toe-to-toe Thursday, and neither blinked.
One group wants to permanently conserve the state-owned island for recreational and educational uses, and the other wants to retain the possibility of building a marine transportation port on the island.
The committee, working under the direction of the state Department of Conservation, was charged earlier this year with trying to reach consensus on future use of the 941-acre island, which is connected to the mainland by a causeway in Searsport.
Its report is expected to be delivered by the end of the year to Gov. John Baldacci, the Legislature’s Transportation Committee, and the town of Searsport.
As part of the deliberative process, two "affinity groups" have emerged within the group.
One, composed of several in the conservation camp, has proposed supporting further development of port facilities at Mack Point nearby on the mainland in exchange for preserving Sears Island in a mostly natural state.
The other, made up of those in the transportation business and their advocates, has proposed continuing to use the island for passive recreation, but retaining a portion of the northwest quadrant for a container port, when and if the need arises.
At the group’s meeting Thursday at the Searsport Lions Club, neither side would move beyond their basic positions.
But both groups agreed, at the suggestion of Karin Tilberg, deputy conservation commissioner, to meet with their respective members to discuss possible concessions.
Facilitator Jonathan Reitman distributed a consensus proposal with four key points to generate discussion on what both sides might agree:
- No liquefied natural gas facility on the island.
- Fully develop Mack Point to meet increased shipping demand.
- Establish outdoor recreation and education opportunities on the island, following a 20-year management plan.
- Determine how much land might be used on the island for a container port, if and when needed; that land would not be used in recreation or education activities.
The third and fourth points quickly became the focus of exchanges between John Melrose, former transportation commissioner and spokesman for the port proponent group, and Scott Dickerson and Steve Miller, both of whom work with land trusts and who lead the conservation group.
Melrose asserted that fully developing Mack Point, at least in activities that require further environmental permitting, could not come without examining the possibility of using Sears Island for marine transportation.
Environmental reviews by federal regulatory authorities require the applicant to seek less intrusive alternatives, he said, and since a berth at Sears Island was dredged in the 1990s, regulators might suggest a port there over expanding Mack Point.
Dickerson, Miller and others countered that an industrial port on Sears Island would taint the natural experience they foresee offering visitors there.
Dickerson also referred to the recently issued Brookings Institution’s analysis of Maine’s economy, which urged state policymakers to see the value of its "quality places," and to invest in a "place-based economy."
Late in the meeting, Dickerson wondered aloud about the value of achieving consensus.
"I think this is going to be a momentous decision," he said, responding to Melrose’s observation that if the group reached consensus, its recommendations would carry significant weight with state government.
"A bad decision is worse than no decision," Dickerson said, suggesting some concession may not be able to be made.
Tom Groening
groening@midcoast.com
