public lands and development (Augusta, Washington: insuring, how much, house)

[nullgeo]

Through the recent thread titled "Generica" there has been exchange about development pressures in Maine. I have been gaining an education. But the thread is really off to a new level of topic, so I am restating with new title here.

Searching around on the net a bit, I was looking for stats on how much public land is owned in Maine. I have read as little as 1% and 2%. One Forum contributor said it was more than the entire area of the state of N.H., if I understood him right. I have not been able to find any substantiation and am interested if others can provide.

I Did find an article from about a year ago in the Kennebec Journal which, regardless of your agreement/disagreement, did provide some interesting figures and information, as well as some editorial point of view discussion of the issues being tossed around in the "Generica" thread.

If anyone is interested in more on the subject:
Land for Maine's Future needs to keep at it

I also found a thread from this Forum dated Feb of '07, titled "Public v. Private Land, posted by "Montana to Maine", in which the writer (from wide open Montana) describes similar experiences to mine in Washington — and which concerns are part of my research and questions for Mainers about your state.

We are in the 'Great Wide Open' out west here ... yet finding fewer and fewer places to roam due to out-of-state ownership increases, massive immigration along the coast, and resulting development. The similar pressures in Maine seem to be much much slower developing, but nevertheless real, certainly in the south coast areas ... also notable Mid Coast?

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Twenty years ago Maine was 95% privately owned. The largest tracts of government land were Baxter State Park, owned by the state, and the White Mountain National Forest owned by the feds. Roads and smaller parks made up the rest. Since 1986 we have been under assault by the environmental industry and wealthy foundations. In the last 10 years alone the state has doubled it's land ownership. This is an economic disaster for those near new state land.

For example, the state bought half the town of Drew. That's 12,000 acres. They didn't need it, but Augusta has to do something with all that money they take to preserve our position as having the highest per capita tax burden in the entire nation. The problem is that Augusta doesn't pay taxes. The good people of Drew had their taxes double. The townspeople tried to deorganize and turn in their town charter. The legislature turned them down. The intent seems to be to drive down property values so they can buy even more land. Here is what an area lady wrote to the legislature:

"Representative Cummings:

I am writing to you to ask you for some information. I sit in my home on land in the Unorganized Territories. This house and land has been in my family for over 150 years. I am now fifty, no longer a naive youngster fresh out of school with wide eyed stare, believing that man is inherently good.............
I have watched my state go from being the proud, independent entity of years past to being a haughty, condescending authority to the people who live here. I have watched my state suffer from economic bleedout as viable, vibrant natural resource based industries are systematically driven out of business and out of the state. I have watched as private landowners who hold their land in highest esteem and grand stewardship are belittled and pressed into selling because of excessive environmental rules. I have watched as the weak and sick among us are treated as chaff in the fields, unwanted and uncared for. I have watched an educational system that once fostered the notion of individualism and pride in excellence turn to collectivism and mediocrity in the name of team building. I have watched as legislators have turned from doing what is morally right and just to pandering to special interests that echo of socialism. I have watched truckers, the true lifeblood of this nation, bowed down with the weight of skyrocketting fuel prices and taxes........all while Big Oil marches on. I have watched as the working men and women of this state have gone from the position of being recognized as the backbone of this state and nation to being thought of as lowly and uneducated because they don't have college degrees. I have watched as all out war was declared on Maine people who live in rural areas and struggle to stay and live and breathe and die on the land that not only holds their heart, but also lives in their souls.
...........and I have watched as every session, every successive administration takes us further and further from that which once made us great, and deeper and deeper into the never ending cessspool of bonding, debt, and all the horrors that naturally ensue. Maine people have had enough. Enough. Perhaps you would be so kind to let everyone down there know that horses are being saddled up, and we are ready to ride. If those elected can't clean up this mess, perhaps it is time to step aside and let some real Maine people come in and clean up the mess that is swallowing up our heritage. A trapped mouse will do everything in its power to avoid confrontation with its pursuer. However, when cornered, it will stand up and fight with everything in its being. And mice roar..............."

[kellysmith]

Back in the day, someone had the idea to set aside a "public lot" in each unorganized township. I believe they were 360 acres. I think there was some connection to planning for school locations, or some such thing. One of the benefits to outdoorsmen was these public lots hadn't been clearcut and some even had old growth lumber. Sort of gave you an idea of what Maine might have been like years ago. I don't remember the exact details, but part of the sweetheart deal the state worked out with Gardner Timberlands for the Katahdin Lake area involved a lot of these public lots. It was somewhere around 21,000 acres of public lots, with above average timber because of the logging practices that had been imposed on public lots, traded for 4,000 acres surrounding Katahdin Lake plus $14,000,000. Mr. Gardner must have laughed all the way to the bank. Of course Mr. Gardner ended up with all sorts of small parcels of land, but 5 acres for 1 acre plus the $$$ would be reason enough to make the deal!! To me, it's sad because these public lots even though they weren't large, were close by and accessable. Some have already been scalped, and I'm sure they all will be in the not too distant future.

[nullgeo]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

Twenty years ago Maine was 95% privately owned. ... In the last 10 years alone the state has doubled it's land ownership.

Thanks for the education. I note that, if the State owned 5% in the past and now has doubled that, we are talking about up to 10% as public land. Still not a large figure compared to many other states.

I am also intrigued by your statement that Maine residents have the highest per capita tax burden in the nation. Is that a verifiable statistic? ... or an opinion?

the Katahdin Lake / Gardner deal sounds like some pork-trading in the back shed, doesn't it?

[nullgeo]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

... our position as having the highest per capita tax burden in the entire nation."

Okay, I just found a tax-burden by state table ... it seems Vermont (14.1%) beats Maine (14%) by 1/10 of a % ... so that ugly "We're Number One!" statistic is verifiable (close enough ... 1/10%)

That said, it seems that tax burdens nation-wide range from 6.6% (Alaska) to 14.1% (Vermont) but the typical state runs about 11%. That's a significant difference disfavoring Maine, but it is not too terribly far from the norm. Enough to grumble about anyway

I guess the question is: what do Mainers get for their thoughtful contributions?

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by nullgeo

Okay, I just found a tax-burden by state table ... it seems Vermont (14.1%) beats Maine (14%) by 1/10 of a % ... so that ugly "We're Number One!" statistic is verifiable (close enough ... 1/10%)

That said, it seems that tax burdens nation-wide range from 6.6% (Alaska) to 14.1% (Vermont) but the typical state runs about 11%. That's a significant difference disfavoring Maine, but it is not too terribly far from the norm. Enough to grumble about anyway

I guess the question is: what do Mainers get for their thoughtful contributions?

Well, I am going to go off topic here just to point out that there are many threads on here that deal with taxes, the state of Maine, and all things in between.

[Coaster]

The public lots were and are much, much larger than 360 acres -- some of them were entire townships.

Maine's publicly owned land is still a very small percentage of the total compared to most other states. What some people add to that number is the privately owned land that's protected by conservation easements. All of the Pingree land in the North Woods, for example, is protected from development by an easement, as are tens of thousands of acres across the state. That land can still be used to produce fuel and fiber and pulpwood and saw logs, but it can't be turned into subdivisions or strip malls. Most all of it is open to the public in one form or another -- hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, that sort of thing.

You can find a list of state parks and public reserved lands at:

Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands:

[kellysmith]

Coaster,
I did a search of Aroostook and don't see the public lots I'm aware of. I think there is a difference between "public reserved land" like Aroostook State Park, and the lot or yes, in some cases multiple lots that were set aside in unorganized territories. Dyer Brook, which is an organized territory jointly owned half it's township with Great Northern back in the Northern's heyday. That's not what I'm referring to as the public lots.

[nullgeo]

Originally Posted by Coaster

Maine's publicly owned land is still a very small percentage of the total compared to most other states. What some people add to that number is the privately owned land that's protected by conservation easements. All of the Pingree land in the North Woods, for example, is protected from development by an easement, as are tens of thousands of acres across the state. That land can still be used to produce fuel and fiber and pulpwood and saw logs, but it can't be turned into subdivisions or strip malls. Most all of it is open to the public in one form or another -- hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, that sort of thing.

It seems the national 'Conservation Easements' movement is alive in Maine, then ... at least some ... as it is out here. Too late for preserving my community here to the degree in which I desire to live, but making it bearable compared to where things would be here without it, until I move deeper into the woods somewhere.

This optional, voluntary method is interesting as it relies on individual landowners' sense of community values, some generosity, and a bit of sacrifice, to boot. People who love their land and community and wish to see them survive and thrive with only very limited and very carefully controlled development can voluntarily commit their property to the programs while continuing to enjoy it for themselves. This allows the natural environment and community history to thrive in a legacy — without hardly any red-taped government control.

While landowners who participate in voluntary conservation easements receive tax benefits in return, they also give up some potential investment value and compromise a bit of their privacy. So it has to really mean something to them down deep and come from their hearts. Good news is any new owners buying properties in these programs will be voluntarily entering into the covenant of conservation thus insuring that they too place value on the community and its history and tradition.

Seems like a very good fit for the Maine personality. Do other Mainers on this forum agree that the 'Conservation Easement' programs are good for Maine and hold a lot of promise for Maine's future? What are the downsides for Maine, if any?

[Northern Maine Land Man]

If a conservation easement is for a fixed period such as a life estate or 20 years it can benefit somebody who is at risk of being taxed out of his land. However, the placing of a property in a conservation easement "in perpetuity" is like poisoning a well. Quantrell and his raiders slaughtered whole communities and poisoned wells in the Kansas and Missouri areas during and after the Civil war. It was their form of rural cleansing.

The modern day Quantrells are doing their rural cleansing on an economic basis. There are huge areas of Maine where nobody will ever be able to build a camp in the woods, not even the owner. If you buy land, make sure you have a title search done and know what you are buying. The amount of land contaminated by conservation easements is far more than what the state and feds own.