Question 3: Preserving public lands, wildlife habitat

By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
    Preserving land for public use and improving habitat for wildlife are the focus of Question 3, which voters will have the option of approving or denying on the Nov. 6 ballot. The bond issue reads: “Do you favor a $5,000,000 bond issue to purchase land and conservation easements statewide from willing sellers for public land and water access, conservation, wildlife or fish habitat and outdoor recreation, including hunting and fishing and deer wintering areas, and to preserve working farmland and working waterfronts to be matched by at least $5,000,000 in private and public contributions?”
    If approved, disbursement of proceeds of the bond must be expended as set out in the Act to Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue to Support Maine’s Natural Resource-based Economy (Public Law, Chapter 696), under the direction and supervision of the Department of Conservation.
    Bond proceeds for the Land for Maine’s Future Board, as set out in Section 6, must be expended by the DOC, with public access of acquired property guaranteed. Hunting, fishing, trapping and public access may not be prohibited on land acquired with bond proceeds, except to the extent of applicable state, local or federal laws, rules and regulations and except for working waterfront projects and farmland protection projects.
    Payment from bond proceeds for acquisitions of local or regional significance, as determined by the LMFB, may be made directly to cooperating entities as defined in Title 5, Section 6201, Subsection 2 for acquisition of land and interest in land by cooperating entities, subject to terms and conditions enforceable by the state to ensure its use for the purpose of this Act. In addition to the considerations required under Title 5, Chapter 353, the board gives preference to acquisitions under this paragraph that achieve benefits for multiple towns and that address regional conservation needs including public recreational access, wildlife, open space and farmland.
    The bond funds expended for conservation, recreation, farmland and water access must be matched with at least $5 million in public and private contributions. Seventy percent of that amount must be in the form of cash or other tangible assets, including the value of land and real property interest acquired by or contributed to cooperating entities, as defined in Title 5, Section 6201, Subsection 2, when property interests have a direct relationship to the property proposed for protection, as determined by the LMFB. The remaining 30 percent may be matching contributions and may include the value of project-related, in-kind contributions of goods and services to and by cooperating entities.
    Because portions of the state have deer populations that are struggling and deer wintering habitat protection is vital to the survival and enhancement of these populations, projects that conserve and protect deer wintering areas are considered to have special value and must receive preferential consideration during scoring of new applications for support under Title 5, Section 6200.
    To the extent the purposes are consistent with the disbursement provisions in this Act, 100 percent of the bond proceeds may be considered as state match for any federal funding to be made available to the state.