Less polarization, please
To the editor,
The controversy over shellfish aquaculture in the Bagaduce is just one battle in a larger war, but I would not go along with Sandy Dinsmore’s characterization (in her recent article “The Fight for the Bagaduce”) of the antagonists as being the wealthy waterfront property owners from away versus a few local blue-collar oyster entrepreneurs trying to eke out a living. (There’s nothing to stop shellfish aquaculture leases, which are transferable, from being bought out by interests from away.) Rather, I see it as the uprising of an increasingly informed and aware general public-haves, have-nots, what-have-you – against the encroaching privatization of the commons which occurs whenever the state grants or upgrades an aquaculture lease in public waters.
Yes, the waterfront folks have a front-row seat on the estuary and a heightened awareness of the impacts of increased activity there, commercial or otherwise. The rest of us are grateful to have access to protected public waters for recreation, marine harvesting, and other activities. However long we have lived in the Bagaduce area, whatever our net worth and personal situation, however we feel about aquaculture, one thing I think most of us have in common is that we resent giving up public use of a portion of this common resource for the commercial benefit of a few, to the detriment of local property values, tax base, open space, scenery, and ecosystem health.
Unlike other forms of fishing gear, an aquaculture raft occupies a block of permanent space, for the duration of the lease. But its impact goes beyond square footage, especially in a protected inland waterway, a more intimate setting than a bay open to the ocean. Whatever the size and profile of a raft, it commands far more territorial “space” than the footprint itself, impacting an entire cove or channel. This is just one of many “aesthetic, subjective” facts that the DMR’s current application and lease-granting process does not recognize. Many of the objections raised at the various informational meetings have been about the lack of public input and control allowed under the current leasing rules. Working waterfronts are part of Maine’s heritage and economy, and the state is promoting aquaculture as such, but aquaculture’s impacts on public use and enjoyment make it a whole different kettle of fish.
The quote from my initial letter to the DMR was taken out of context. The main thrust of my letter was to urge both the DMR and Briggs to work together with the Penobscot selectmen to resolve the decades-old problem of chlorine pollution in Northern Bay due to two large overboard discharges (at the nursing home and the elementary school), dating from the mid-1970s – an important element of the story completely omitted from the article, and deserving of a follow-up. Although concerned about the effects on navigation and public access, I saw the aquaculture proposal as a potential means of galvanizing local and state support for funding a long-term solution to the overboard discharges, and restoring the ecology of Northern Bay. My husband’s comment should also have been placed in this context.
Despite the prioritization of the overboard discharges as a major problem in Penobscot’s 1991 comprehensive plan, year after year goes by with no progress toward resolving the stalemate between town and state about who will pay to replace the overboard discharges with an ecological solution. Meanwhile, a group of local citizen volunteers has been meeting regularly to work toward a healthier Bagaduce watershed, and is promoting a comprehensive ecological assessment in order to understand how aquaculture development will impact the river. Many of the Bagaduce Watershed Association members are indeed waterfront property owners, but there is a lot more going on here than the article’s theme of NIMBYism. These folks would like to see a healthier watershed, comprehensive planning about aquaculture leasing in the Bagaduce, a fairer leasing process, and improved communication. They are actually doing something to further these goals, and doing a good job of it. Let’s drop the polarization and work together towards a common vision for the Bagaduce.
Jane Crosen Washburn
Penobscot