The Baxter Park Authority has voted to accept the parcel and to ban hunting, snowmobiling, and other activities in the new portion of the park, where those activities also are prohibited in much of the park's 200,000-plus acres under deeds of trust left by Governor Percival Baxter. The Sportsmen’s Alliance of Maine and the Maine Snowmobile Association oppose the bill in its current form and are advocating for continued hunting, snowmobiling and other traditional uses on the annexed land, noting that 51,000 acres of Baxter State Park are already open for traditional users.

The land deal is complex, involving public lands in four Maine counties, Gardner Land Company, the Trust for Public Land, the Baxter Park Authority, the Department of Conservation and the Maine Legislature, who must approve the deal by a two- thirds vote.

Concerns were raised at the hearing regarding the selling of 7,400 acres of state-owned land, which includes some of the best-managed timberland in Maine. Gardner Land Company stated that the deal would help keep their logging and mill operations - and roughly 200 employees - in business harvesting a previously restricted 7,400 acres of good woodland that would be part of the swap.

The Millinocket Town Council voted unanimously to pass a resolution approving the purchase only if certain conditions are met. Those conditions include local officials having a voice on all future land transactions involving taxpayer dollars and the maintenance of traditional uses (hunting and snowmobiling) in the region. Millinocket Town Councilors have expressed concern about the secrecy behind the deal and other transactions involving the State that take present or potential growth areas away from the local economy before local officials can intercede.

The committee is expected to hold a Work Session on March 6th to discuss the issue further.

Coalition Leaders To Meet With Rural Caucus
Coalition leaders will be meeting at the State House with the Legislature’s Rural Caucus on March 14th to discuss the problems facing winter-related businesses in northern Maine who have been devastated by the lack of snow this year. Please continue to contact Jim Batey with any relevant data regarding this issue.

New Coalition Member
Please welcome Eric Annis, owner and operator of Lary Funeral Homes, to the Coalition. Lary Funeral Homes are located in Dover-Foxcroft and Milo. A native of Dover-Foxcroft, Eric took over the funeral business from his father, Phil (a Piscataquis County Commissioner for 27 years), and now his son Ethan is training to become a licensed funeral director. For more information on Lary Funeral Homes, click here

Bear Hunting Task Force Report
A task force that reviewed Maine's bear-hunting rules, organized and led by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, made the following recommendations in a final report released this week:

Eliminate steel-jawed foot traps.
Allow trappers to use only one bear trap at a time, instead of two.
Instruct DIF&W to study the impact of bait on bear behavior, health, reproduction and survival rates.
Instruct DIF&W to collect more information on the number of bear trappers active in Maine, their activities and the types of equipment they use.

The task force brought together many of the major players from both sides of the unsuccessful referendum campaign in November 2004 to end bear trapping, hounding and baiting in Maine. This proposal did little to settle the intense debate between hunting and animal rights groups over tactics used by bear hunters. At least two anti-hunting groups that participated in the task force are hinting at another voter referendum to change Maine's bear-hunting laws.

Northern Pike Invading Maine
State fisheries biologists are concerned that the presence of northern pike in Mosher Pond, a small headwater for Little Norridgewock Stream, could have far-reaching implications, possibly wiping out trout and other game fish over a large area of Maine.

Through Little Norridgewock and other streams, the pike could invade more than a half-dozen nearby ponds. Eventually, biologists say, the species could make its way to the Sandy River and then to the entire Kennebec River below Madison.

Pike, which are often at the top of the food chain and gorge on native species, will raise havoc with the brown and rainbow trout fisheries supported by the Kennebec and its tailwaters. They could also threaten sport fishing for largemouth bass, white perch and other species in Norcross, North, Parker, Locke, Sand, Crowell and Fellows ponds. Each of the waters is linked back to Mosher by the Little Norridgewock, Wilson or McGurdy streams.

Pike are not native to Maine, their nearest home waters are in the Lake Champlain region, but people have been illegally stocking northern pike in Maine ponds for years because the fish are known as fighters once hooked. They can grow to more than 40 inches in length and their weight can top 20 pounds. Once they have found their way into a body of water, eradication is almost impossible. The illegal introduction of northern pike into Maine waters is a growing problem and a conviction of putting non-native species of fish into Maine waterways carries up to a $10,000 fine. The State has an anti-poaching hotline (800-ALERT-US) and offers up to a $2,000 reward for information resulting in the conviction of people who illegally stock pike.

Upcoming Events of Interest
March 6th: PCEDC Quarterly Meeting - Topic: “Maine’s Changing Wood Products Sector” 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the East Sangerville Grange Hall. For more information, please visit the PCEDC web site.

March 18th: The 2nd annual Greenville-to-Brownville 100-mile Wilderness Dog Sled Race has been rescheduled and will begin on Moosehead Lake at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 18th. Over twenty teams of mushers will travel through the “100-mile wilderness” on an “out and back” trail. Volunteers are needed to handle the dog teams before the race! For more information, contact Amy Dugan or Terry Knowles, or contact the Towns of Brownville or Greenville, or the Moosehead Lake Region Chamber of Commerce. For race rules and more information, go to the Three Rivers Community Web Site.

March 28th: A topic for the Quarterly meeting of the Economic Development Council of Maine will be, “The North Maine Woods Project” and will be held at the Augusta Country Club in Manchester. Jim Lehner, General Manager of the Northeast Region and Luke Muzzy, Senior Land Asset Manager will be speaking about Plum Creek’s plan for its lands in the Moosehead Lake region. Cathy Johnson, Northwoods Project Director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine will also be speaking.

March 31st through April 2nd: The Coalition will host a booth at the 26th annual State of Maine Sportsman's Show at the Augusta Civic Center.

March 31st and April 1st: The Southern Piscataquis County Chamber of Commerce is hosting the annual Penquis Valley Regional Expo at Piscataquis Community High School in Guilford. Expo hours will be as follows:

Friday, March 31st from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 1st from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

April 8th and 9th: The Presque Isle Fish and Game Sportsman’s Spring Show at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. The Coalition will be hosting an informational booth at this Show. For more information, please visit the Presque Isle Fish and Game web site.

Newsletter’s New Look
Please let us know if you are encountering any problems with our new format for the weekly Newsletter.

email: info@preservegrowme.org
phone: 888-702-7466
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