North woods and Katahdin nat. Park/forest?

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Some day we will open those roads back up, restore access to the Allagash, dig up the gates at entrances to state land and auction off most of the "land for Maine's future"property so it can become productive again. In my lifetime we have lost an average of 77,000 acres a year of pasture and cultivated ground. It is now forest. Maine could feed New England. Lets bring most of our pasture and cultivated ground back.

I used to live down near the coast. When I moved up here there were miles of stone walls in the woods. It turns out that this was dairy country. I asked how they transported milk in the wintertime. They didn't. They made cheese and the whey was fed to hogs. Maine used to be the cheese capitol of America before Wisconsin was settled. What whey the hogs and calves didn't eat just ran down the brook. Yup; milk fed trout.

Preserving public access to our woods and waters is not without precedent. A couple of decades ago, John Martin of Eagle Lake fame personally bulldozed the barrier to a long popular launch site on the Allagash. He was much acclaimed for defying the bureaucracy. As a Democrat, he didn't defy the bureaucracy very much, but when he did it was just as popular as Paul LePage is today for restoring access to state land.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Not at all. It's illegal no matter what party is in control.

[Maineac]

What, pray tell, is illegal? Declaring a National Monument? Like presidents of both parties have done, over and over?Taking land by eminent domain to hand it over to developers? I'm sure that would be a supportable endeavor from one's perspective that condemns a non-existent "environmental industry."

In 1919 the Grand Canyon was designated a National Monument. Mr. Cameron sued ( he had "over 1000" mining claims along the Colorado River). He wanted to develop "Cameron Land" into something akin to Disney World (and mine the Canyon). The problem with maintaining an unthinking, drumbeat position is that mankind will go for the quick buck any way it can. I know I, personally, try to save everywhere I can. If it's cheaper to take a shortcut, I'll do it. Had Yellowstone, Yosemite, areas of Alaska, etc., etc., not been designated (National Monuments have been designated by presidents of BOTH parties), there'd be nothing but poisonous holes in the ground from mine tailings, oil spills and the destruction of natural resources. That's the way it is. Lay on a regulation, they squeal because it costs them to avoid dumping heavy metals and manufacturing waste into the Penobscot River. In the '60's, the Penobbie below Bucksport had a continuous rainbow of colors along the shore, and all kinds of tar blobs. Ships delivering fuel oil to Bucksport would start flushing their bilges on the way out as soon as they reached Odom's Ledge.

I'm not big on Federal control impinging on local tradition and practices, rules and law, but simply incessantly repeating the drumbeat of those that would own, mine, strip or otherwise cash in on such lands for immediate financial gratification exemplifies the blind follower.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Tyrants have been trying to crush American patriots since 1770 and before. In 1770, General Thomas Gage was governor general of all British possessions in the Americas. He wrote back to London in 1770, "Democracy is too prevalent in America, and claims the greatest attention of the interest of Great Britain to confine the Colonists on this side of the back-country. By restricting American settlement to the Atlantic coast, the material base of American democracy might be undercut." General Thomas Gage advised London to "abolish town meetings altogether and replace them with oligarchic British borough governments."

Sound familiar? Tyrants are still trying that today. Just read the above post. Today is George Washington"s birthday. We fought a revolution against tyranny. Six years ago we sponsored a bill to abolish LURC. A commission was appointed, led by Bill Beardsley, and the end result was that they made LURC bigger, stronger and meaner. The bureaucrats held a victory celebration. Half of Maine is essentially a "British borough government" and the people governed do not even get to vote for their rulers.

Yet, the drumbeat of freedom continues in the far corners of our nation and some states like Maine. We have towns with no zoning. We must remain vigilant because there are still tyrants who would take away our liberty. They should be reminded though, of what happened last time it was tried. There was a war that lasted eight years until General Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia.

[Maineac]

Well, that sure answered the question. I think maybe you might consider being careful about who you support politically given your clear proclivities, because its been my experience, and I feel quite confident stating this, that they don't have your best interests at heart.

But thanks for answering the question posed in such graphic and historical detail.