Heated Debate Punctuates Hearing on Shorebird Zones
By Kevin Miller, Bangor Daily News, Maine
Apr. 11–AUGUSTA — Lawmakers began wading into the heated and often emotional debate Tuesday over how to balance habitat protection for fragile shorebird populations with the property rights of coastal landowners.
Members of the Legislature’s Natural Resources Committee heard more than six hours of testimony Tuesday on proposals to change a controversial regulation requiring a 250-foot buffer zone around habitat for migratory shorebirds and some inland waterfowl.
The regulation, enacted last year, has created an uproar among landowners concerned that their undeveloped lots will be worth substantially less without a water view. Opposition to the law has been strongest in Washington County, where an estimated 17.5 percent of the land base was affected.
Biologists and environmental groups maintain that additional protection is needed to protect shrinking populations of migratory sandpipers, plovers and other shorebirds.
Addressing the committee and standing-room-only crowd, Maine Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner David Littell said the department is offering to reduce the buffer zone near feeding areas to 75 feet. The setback near migratory shorebird resting areas would remain at 250 feet.
The compromise — one of several pending with the committee — would reduce by two-thirds the acreage affected by the regulations. But the DEP proposal would severely limit landowners’ ability to remove trees and other vegetation to open up a view of the water.
Littell reiterated that the rules are not creating no-build zones but, instead, are meant to be flexible. DEP staff will work with landowners to find a solution that minimizes impacts while still allowing development, he said.
“The issue here is how much good habitat protection should be balanced and compromised for the good view which the real estate industry and a number of other people in the room … value very highly,” Littell said.
Landowners, meanwhile, said the regulations already are having dramatic impacts on Maine’s rural areas.
People who invested in property for retirement security are suddenly finding themselves in financial straits, town tax revenues are dropping, and Down East construction workers and tradespeople are having difficulty finding work, speakers said.
Many speakers demanded some form of compensation for what they deemed a “regulatory taking” of their land.
“You have taken an approved subdivision from me,” said Dale Henderson, who owns land in Steuben and Cutler.
Brian Zappala said four of his coastal properties used to be worth about $450,000 total. After the setback rules changed, the parcels are worth only between $100,000 and $120,000 total, he said. Zappala said the rules also are scaring away potential buyers.
“I don’t know how you can feel good about yourselves doing this to people,” Zappala told the committee, which approved the bill by unanimous vote last year. “And I’m one of thousands of people in the state of Maine that is impacted.”
Roger Yochelson, a small-business owner who lives in Addison, accused the DEP and state biologists of setting “arbitrary” rules without considering the economic effects. Yochelson cast doubt on the science behind the rules and said people fear the regulations are only a first step toward the state taking land by eminent domain.
“This is all unnecessary,” Yochelson said. “The birds are doing fine.”
Biologists strongly disagreed.
Norman Famous, who has conducted shorebird surveys with state and federal agencies since the 1970s, said some species have declined by as much as 90 percent in Maine in recent decades. Areas that once hosted tens of thousands of birds now may host only a few thousand migrants, he said.
Jody Jones, a wildlife ecologist with Maine Audubon, said Maine is the last stop for many of the migratory shorebirds before their nonstop, 2,000-mile flight to wintering grounds in South America. Loss of feeding grounds or frequent disturbances during foraging can be fatal, she said.
“It’s like shutting down the grocery store and gas station for these birds,” Jones said.
David Gulick, a Cumberland resident who is a licensed real estate agent, called the regulations reasonable and good for Maine.
“We need these regulations now to protect critical populations of Maine wildlife for future generations of Mainers and visitors who come from all over the world,” Gulick said. “Wildlife and wildlife protection are absolutely at the core of Maine’s heritage.”
The committee plans to hold a work session on April 27. In addition to the DEP’s compromise, the committee is considering a proposal for a 100-foot buffer zone near feeding areas without cutting restrictions.
Republican Sen. Kevin Raye of Perry is sponsoring a bill that, in addition to reducing the setback requirements, would grandfather lots in existence before Sept. 12, 2006.
—–
Copyright (c) 2007, Bangor Daily News, Maine
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.