Jon's Jottings by Jon Lund, Publisher, Maine Sportsman:

Just say "NO" to Plum Creek's Development

Readers interested in doings in the north woods will want to read Doug Rooks' nicely balanced column concerning Plum Creek's development proposal before the Land Use Regulatory Commission (LURC) and the mild editorial on the same subject penned by the editor. At least, it seems mild to this writer, compared to the strong hand at the editorial pen frequently wielded by Mr. Vanderweide.

In the interest of full disclosure, it should be pointed out that this writer was among the several petitioners who asked LURC to hold a rule-making aimed at declaring a moratorium on large-scale developments in this area to give LURC breathing space to formulate a new plan for the region. LURC voted "No" on May 4 on our petition, despite the fact that several years ago LURC itself declared it needed to develop a new plan for the Moosehead Region.

It is unfortunate LURC denied our petition without serious discussion of the benefits of developing a new plan for the Moosehead area, rather than starting with Plum Creek's plan and trimming it to fit.

But that is how LURC is doing it. The proposal calls for the development of 975 house lots consisting of 575 shore lots on Moosehead and other lakes and 400 back lots. That doesn't include the number of house lots that may be included in the resort developments. My concern is that the focus will be on the details of the proposal, losing sight of the impact of such massive development on a remote area.

Hunting Fragmentation

A lot of attention has been paid lately to the impact on wildlife of fragmentation of wildlife habitat, but not much has been said about the effect of habitat fragmentation (also known as sprawl) on hunting.

Those of us who have hunted locally over the years have seen it, though. I used to hunt partridge, rabbits and pheasants in land now occupied by Central Maine Power Company's service building off Outer Winthrop Street in Augusta. I used to hunt crows on Daggett's Farm, which is now Westwood Development. Today, perhaps you could bow hunt near there. Most of the abandoned farmlands near Augusta where I used to hunt birds, are now house lots or posted land.

As most of us are aware, the penalty for hunting on posted land includes loss of license. Often,today, back lot lines are not well marked. When a hunter is tracking a deer, or a moose, or pursuing wounded game, the animals are not respecters of property lines. Hunt moose amidst a checkerboard of "No Trespassing" signs? Forget about it.

As you will read elsewhere in this publication, the directors of the Sprotsman's Alliance of Maine are concerned aobut continued access to the land proposed for development by Plum Creek. Not to worry. The answer is clear. Potential buyers of house lots at fancy prices are not going to buy if the unwashed public has guaranteed access to their land.

No-Longer Remote Ponds

One of the rare features of the north woods is their remote ponds, where few or no structures are evident. On some ponds, PC proposes protection for only part of the pond. On others, no protection is offered beyond a 500-foot-wide protected strip. It seems to me that a remote pond within easy reach of a large number of seasonal homes would be remote in name only, at best a crowded place to practice your fly-casting.

We should note that this proposal involves less than half of Plum Creek's holdings in Maine. Other landowners are waiting in the wings and what happens in the Moosehead region will likely prove a pattern for other remote areas of the state.

A glaring omission in the economic planning of this state is that we have no handle on the economic value of the hunting and fishing and tourist activities in the north woods. At the beginning, due in large part to the skillful advance work done by PC's consultants, local support for the project was voiced. Then, as details emerged and people began to visualize the massive scale of the development, they had second thoughts. As guides, outfitters and sporting camps study the details of this proposal, thy have raised concerns about the adverse impact on their operations of loss of the wilderness character of the north woods.

In my humble opinion, approval of PC's plan would mark the beginning of a serious degradation of the hunting and fishing experience in Northern Maine. The change would be detrimental to the future of the Greenville area, as well as the whole state.

Reagan Solution

In all of the discussion about the details of the Plum Creek proposal we are in danger of losing sight of a basic element of their proposal. PC is asking for a zoning change to accommodate their plan. No one is entitled to a zoning change as a matter of right. LURC could take a page from the drug abuse solution favored by former First Lady Nancy Reagan: "Just say no." This would put the burden on Plum Creek to come back with a more reasonable plan and one that preserves the remote quality that makes the Moosehead Region a state symbol.

Bowhunting Tips

Having successfully taken a deer during this year's expanded archery season, this neophyte bowhunter has the following tips to offer hunters of urban deer.

Take up a position downwind of where you expect the deer to travel. If the wind holds steady, and the deer show up where anticipated, the deer probably won't scent you.

Fancy camo patterns aren't necessary. A face mask and army surplus camo works OK. Just don't move until the deer is feeding with its head down.

Know your range limit. If it is 60 feet, like mine, put out a mark at 60 feet and wait until the deer is within range.

If you are shooting from an elevated stand, pick a target at your range limit and shoot a field point at it to check your bow sight.

A mechanical broadhead works fine. Its trajectory is close to that of a field point. I like the Spitfire, which has three blades that fold forward and nearly disappear, offering minimal wind resistance.

Although they are bombarded by the noise of civilization, urban deer behave much like their rural cousins. When an acorn falls with a whack, the head goes up and the ears fan out to listen for any pattern of sounds. if it hears nothing, the head goes back down and the deer resumes feeding. The whitetail's alertness makes stalking, in most conditions, a most difficult challenge.