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Sears Island Agreement To
Be Implemented
Maine Sierran, Winter 2009
After years of controversy and uncertainty,
yet another chapter has been added to the saga of Sears Island. On January 13,
Governor John Baldacci issued an executive order to accept the recommendations
of the Sears Island Planning Initiative’s Joint Use Planning Committee. It was
presented to the Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Transportation on
January 15. On that date, the committee voted 10 to 2 to accept the executive
order.
The Sears Island Planning Initiative (SIPI)
developed a consensus agreement signed by 38 of its 41 members in April of 2007.
Subsequently, the Joint Use Planning Commission (JUPC) was convened to implement
the Agreement. Prior to the consensus agreement, the Maine Department of
Transportation (MDOT), presumed owner of Sears Island, was free to develop the
island as it saw fit.
The consensus agreement makes specific
restrictions on the potential future developments and grants a 601 acre
conservation easement to be held by the Maine Coast Heritage Trust with the
Department of Conservation as secondary holder of the easement. The remaining
330 acre parcel continues to be held by the MDOT for future transportation
usage. It has long been the Sierra Club’s position that the island should be
limited to compatibly managed marine transportation, education, recreation, and
conservation. The SIPI agreement reinforces the requirement that any future port
development must occur first on Mack Point and that other alternatives be
explored prior to any development on Sears Island. In addition all environmental
regulations will continue to apply to any future development, including EPA and
Army Corps of Engineer reviews. There is no port proposal and there is no
endorsement of a port by the Sierra Club or other members of the SIPI or JUPC.
Meanwhile, the town of Searsport,
surrounding communities and upper Penobscot Bay are able to move forward to
include Sears Island as an environmental resource that they can be proud of and
include in local educational and recreational planning. The Maine Chapter of the
Sierra Club supported this agreement because we have the opportunity to save 601
acres now, and still be free to oppose any possible unacceptable development on
the island’s other 330 acres in the future. While the change of position of the
Transportation Committee is very welcome, the Maine Chapter of the Sierra Club
will evaluate any future Sears Island development plan based on its impact on
the Island. We’re thrilled that twothirds of this national treasurer will be
preserved. But, while understanding the imperative for responsible economic
growth, the chapter will remain vigilant in scrutinizing any plans for Sears
Island which may endanger its natural beauty or ecological balance. We’ll hold
the state to the SIPI agreement— that Mack Point be considered for port
development before Sears Island. We will also hold the Army Corps of Engineers
to their requirement of exploring all alternatives prior to developing new port
facilities.
It would seem that a new page has been
turned on the seemingly endless saga of Sears Island. Concerned citizens,
business people, and government officials all deserve our gratitude for their
good judgment and spirit of cooperation. Protecting over 600 acres of this
precious island forever is indeed something to celebrate. But the final chapter
of the story remains to be written. We’ll be monitoring the progress. Stay
tuned.
(From Maine Sierran, Winter 2009,
Volume VII, No. 1)
Sears Island Update - May 2008
After more than thirty five years of controversy over what
many call the “jewel” in Penobscot Bay, the Sierra Club and others concerned
about the environment have helped to develop a plan that finally creates and
codifies a permanent conservation easement on 600 acres, including an impressive
four miles of coastline, myriad acres of wetland habitat and public access.
The Sierra
Club has never endorsed a port on Sears Island. Our position has, among
other things, been to emphasize that a Mack Point build out is essential and
that appropriate uses for Mack Point and Sears Island are; compatibly managed
marine transportation, recreation, education and conservation. According to the
2007 Sears Island Planning Initiative (SIPI) consensus agreement, “Permitting
for a Cargo Port: It is understood that none of the parties are endorsing in
advance any proposal for a marine transportation facility”.
Information and
documents of the Sears Island Planning Initiative and the Joint Use Planning
Committee can be found on
http://www.state.me.us/doc/initiatives/SearsIsland/SearsIsland.shtml
Sears Island Op-Ed
Sears Island glistens in the dramatic autumn
sunlight. On the old apple tree trail, still mostly green, the light is dappled,
warm and inviting. Ocher grasses in the estuary, touched by red, blaze today as
if on fire. Not far offshore, white sails, stunning in their contrast with the
marine blue water, bend to the westerly breeze... imagine groups of children
taking salinity tests in the marsh, talking excitedly with a teacher about the
web of life, meeting in an open field to watch migrating birds, or tracking fox
along a woodland trail. It's easy to imagine a more extensive trail system with
scenic overlook stations and interpretive aids. It's even easy to imagine people
some day arriving in Searsport by boat from Rockland and leaving by train for
Baxter State Park after visiting Sears Island. (From the Op Ed piece
Preserve Sears Island while promoting economy
by Becky Bartovics and Marietta Ramsdell.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006 - Bangor Daily
News. Read the
article.)
___________________________________________________________________________
For more information about
Sears Island, to take part in efforts to protect the island or for a natural
history tour, call the Sierra Club 761-5616 and visit our calendar of events at
http://www.maine.sierraclub.org/calendar.htm. To learn more about this
issue visit the
Maine Department of Conservation's website on the
Sears Island Facilitation Services Planning Initiative.
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