Lots of good conservation recommendations

The Land Conservation Task Force has issued a lot of really good recommendations. While their recommendation of a major bond issue to revitalize the Land for Maine’s Future got most of the news coverage, there are lots of other recommendations that are equally important.

The Task Force was led by David Trahan of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine and Tim Glidden of Maine Coast Heritage Trust, and included a diverse group of participants.

The recommendations included one to ensure that land conservation benefits Maine’s economy and communities – very important – and another to connect us with land and water. I’ve written often about our lack of legal access to our brooks, streams, and rivers. I also like their focus on land conservation near our communities where the lands will get a lot more use.

I appreciated the recommendation to work cooperatively with landowners, and to protect critical natural resources. And they also tackled a big problem with a recommendation to combat climate change.

As a person with ALS, I particularly appreciated their understanding that Maine needs a lot more accessible outdoor places.

All of these recommendations include more specific steps we can take to achieve them. And none of them will be easy to implement and achieve. You are going to have to step up and help make that happen.

To start down that road, I urge you to read the Task Force’s entire report, which you can access here:

https://www.maineconservationtaskforce.com/

You can also listen to interviews with task  force members, Rep Pat Corey, Sen Cathy Breen, and task force co-chair Tim Glidden, here:

https://www.nrcm.org/our-maine/maine-environment-frontline-voices-podcast/

 

 

 

 

 

George Smith

About George Smith

George stepped down at the end of 2010 after 18 years as the executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine to write full time. He writes a weekly editorial page column in the Kennebec Journal and Waterville Morning Sentinel, a weekly travel column in those same newspapers (with his wife Linda), monthly columns in The Maine Sportsman magazine, two outdoor news blogs (one on his website, georgesmithmaine.com, and one on the website of the Bangor Daily News), and special columns for many publications and newsletters. Islandport Press published a book of George's favorite columns, "A Life Lived Outdoors" in 2014. In 2014, George also won a Maine Press Association award for writing the state's bet sports blog. In 2016, Down East Books published George's book, Maine Sporting Camps, and Islandport Press published George and his wife Linda's travel book, Take It From ME, about their favorite Maine inns and restaurants.