Op-ed by Rob Phillips / President and CEO of Coastal Enterprises, Inc.
In 2010 and 2012, Maine voters approved $14.25 million in bonds to support multiple conservation priorities, including the privilege of fishing communities to pass on critical working waterfront access sites to the next generation of commercial fishermen.
We encourage Gov. Paul LePage, who supports many of Maine’s vital natural resource and economic development programs, to authorize the sale of voter-approved bonds to fund projects already approved by the Land for Maine’s Future Program to move working waterfront preservation forward.
A 2005 study by the Island Institute, “The Last Twenty Miles,” quantified the working waterfront access points along the coast, demonstrating their vulnerability to coastal development for residential and recreational purposes.
