The Land for Maine Futures Board will have to decide this week whether to fund a conservation easement involving the Appalachian Mountain Club in the Katahdin Iron Works section of Northern Maine. The obvious thing is that setting aside open land for the future is a great idea and one that has made considerable progress in the last decade. In fact I heard at some event last week that roughly 7 percent of Maine has been set aside in the last decade, not too shabby. Conservation easements make a lot of sense keeping out development while maintaining land that grows trees to keep the economy running while keeping land open for outdoor recreation. So far so good.
This issue though has slightly different twist for me because the AMC runs a set of sporting camps in the middle of the easement area and in fact has already limited access to some hunters and snowmobilers in order to preserve the “wilderness” quality of their operations. I have no problem with a business buying land for use in their operations and no problem with a business plan that calls for a restricted use of some sort on private land (think golf course). I am troubled most by public funding for that sort of thing at the expense of existing businesses. How is it fair to the existing sporting camps in the state to have the state offer this sort of financial support? Would we support the state funding the storefronts for Starbucks while ignoring Dunkin Donuts?
In fact I believe that the AMC as a nonprofit and already enjoys a distinct advantage in the marketplace. In terms of publicity they have a huge advantage, many of the programs they offer are written up as a public service while the rest of us must buy advertising to reach similar markets without the endorsement of the newspaper or magazine. Not to mention being exempt from much of the tax burden the rest of us carry. Some of our tax money will be going to support a competitor. Keep in mind that the hunting and fishing industry gets little if any public support of any kind. In fact downhill skiing (a much smaller recreation industry component, based on economic impact) gets many times the support that hunting and fishing do. In terms of advertising, loans and other supports such as tax breaks. If you want a really good laugh go and talk to a banker about an SBA loan for say a new boat for your guide service, assuming of course that they will even schedule an appointment. (mine won’t, story for another day) Outdoor recreation is a very difficult business to be in for sure and having the state support one business over another does not make it any easier for the other businesses.
I am glad that I do not have to make the decision on this project because of these difficult issues.
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