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Sears
Island Planning Initiative 2006
Cargo Port Site.
Preservation and Port: A Recipe for Prosperity
a permanent vision for Sears Island and Mack Point
Proposed to the Sears Island Planning Initiative Steering Committee
September, 2006
Governor John Baldacci has offered the citizens of Maine a truly unique
opportunity to determine the future of Sears Island, and thereby resolve a
public controversy that has caused uncertainty and conflict about this island,
an important asset of upper Penobscot Bay, for more than 30 years. The
opportunity is unique for two reasons: there is no industrial or transportation
development proposal for the island being contested in the regulatory process,
and the State is leading a planning initiative with broadly inclusive
participation to seek a consensus recommendation for the island's management.
We, the undersigned, propose the following vision for consideration by the
Planning Initiative. We also understand that there is more fact-finding yet to
occur through the Steering Committee process, and we acknowledge that there
might be new information revealed that would cause us to adapt and revise this
vision.
Our vision is founded on these two core recommendations:
that the entirety of Sears Island be permanently committed to conservation,
outdoor recreation, and environmental education; and
that Mack Point, as one of the three ports of Maine, be fully utilized,
enhanced, and expanded.
We envision that Sears Island will feature the following improvements to fulfill
its conservation future and to establish it as a regional eco-tourism asset:
trails of differing levels of challenge, from handicapped-accessible to
narrow, wild footpaths;
safe beach access points, secured from erosion, to provide for hand-carried
watercraft launching, shellfish harvesting, and beach exploration;
composting toilet facilities at primary trailheads and beach access points;
signs and kiosks to provide management information and natural and human
history interpretation;
a building at the northern end of the island, up to 2,000 square-feet in
footprint, sited and constructed as a model of the best practices in
environmentally responsible construction, to provide a small visitor welcome and
information center, facilities for stewardship of the island, and potentially
the offices of a natural resource agency; and
a parking area that is proximate to the building, screened with native
vegetation, separated from the shorefront to provide an effective buffer, and
sufficient in capacity to provide for expected levels of visitation.
Prior to construction of these improvements, an ecological and cultural
inventory will be conducted on the entire island. A management plan will be
prepared that utilizes that inventory to assure that the siting and construction
of all improvements avoids degradation of the ecological and cultural resources
of the island while offering visitors the greatest exposure to opportunities for
experiencing and learning about those resources. The ecological inventory and
management plan will be regularly updated.
We envision three scenarios for ownership of Sears Island:
continued State ownership with a conservation easement held by a second
organization (e.g., the Town of Searsport, a land trust, or a Federal agency);
ownership of the entire island by a Federal resource agency (e.g., Maine
Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge), or ownership of part of the island
with the State or non-profit organization; or
ownership by a non-profit organization (e.g., a land trust) with a
conservation easement held by a second organization (e.g. State agency, Town of
Searsport, or a Federal agency).
Under each scenario, we anticipate that one or more organizations (e.g., Friends
of Sears Island, a land trust, the holder of the conservation easement) will
provide volunteer assistance to the owner for stewardship of the island.
We envision that Mack Point will continue to be an important economic asset,
from the Penobscot Bay region through central and northern Maine, and that it
needs to complement the other principal ports of the state, Portland and
Eastport. To fulfill this crucial transportation role, we understand that the
port facilities at Mack Point will be expanded when demand for additional
facilities is demonstrated, and that they will be enhanced with new shipment
handling equipment and technologies as such develop and are appropriate to serve
the needs of Maine.
We envision that Mack Point will operate, expand, and enhance its facilities by
utilizing the best available environmental practices.
Becky Bartovics,
Penobscot Bay Alliance
Larraine Brown,
Small Business Owner
Scott Dickerson,
Coastal Mountains Land Trust
Jay and McCormack Economy,
Small Business Owners
Jan Flint,
Daily User of Sears Island
Jim Freeman,
Friends of Sears Island
James Grossman,
Member, Squaw Point Association
Lorin Hollander,
Creative Vision Education
Tara Hollander,
Member, Squaw Point Association
Joelle Madiec,
Member, Squaw Point Association
Nancy-Linn Nellis,
Waldo County Marketing Association
Marietta Ramsdell,
Protect Sears Island
Jane Sanford,
Belfast resident
Joan Saxe,
Sierra Club
Steve Miller,
Islesboro Islands Trust
Elizabeth Banwell,
Business Owner, Stockton Springs
John Hyk,
Commissioner, Waldo County
Bob Ramsdell,
Searsport Shellfish Mgmt. Committee
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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