Ramblings about last night's Sears Island forum...

So, what did the Sears Island's Future forum mean to me?

It was the development plan that continues to confuse me. I still do not understand how anyone who has traveled to (let alone lived in) other places could compare the qualities inherent in an undeveloped coastal Maine with those of another pie-in-the-sky economic based plan. There are many areas in the state that might benefit from urbanized commercial investment, but I don't think Sears Island needs anything more than a restored free flow of water around her shores to serve the greatest good... as she has for centuries.

I love trains and would love to have passenger cars crisscross the state afford-ably. Sadly American railways are not constructed or run afford-ably and we are too aware of the undesirability of the noisy belching trains to compare them favorably with the roadways we are so comfortable with -  or to let go of the millions of jobs and dollars already invested in roads and bridges. As rail owners have been pulling up track for decades - railways don't appear to be a certain investment. It is folly to decimate an island's ecosystems,  put mid coast fisheries in jeopardy, and spend millions of taxpayer dollars during a recession, with a  priority NOT to build local markets, but to channel resources to distant industrial and corporate interests. How many container port experts are there in Maine - how many factories to fabricate the machinery? - not one!

Why is the Maine Government looking to develop these mega businesses?  Historically people of the North Atlantic coast have been of an entrepeneurial character. I'd love to see the millions of dollars intended to develop the East Coast - Sears Island trade corridor to be directed instead to assisting our more individually oriented small businesses. As it stands today, a plethora of  limits, restrictions, fees, licences, and regulations are now imposed on standard small businesses in Maine - which might be seen as un-supportive of  individual enterprise...

So... to sum up the Forum I do not support a container port, a rail yard on the island, or the classification of part of the island as a mitigation bank as a good solution for Maine. I heard nothing that leads me to believe that Augusta has faithfully considered why this idea won't float with the people of Maine - and certainly not with the fisheries or future fisheries!