Opinion: Land conservation is a climate change strategy

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 17, 2022

The climate crisis is a global problem. At the very least, many of the impacts we’ve seen will continue for the next several decades while (we hope) the rest of the world follows Maine’s — and now the U.S.’s — lead on climate policy. What can be done? Maine is fortunate to have highly resilient landscapes, none more so than a temperate forest of 5 million acres, stretching from Bethel northeastward to Katahdin. Taking good care of land and water means more than just preventing conversion of the land from undeveloped forest to developed uses; it means managing roads and other infrastructure to prevent habitat fragmentation and loss. Taking good care also means restoring to a greater extent the forest in which Maine’s fish and wildlife evolved. Land conservation is a climate strategy over which Maine has almost total control. ~ Charles F. Gauvin, former CEO of Trout Unlimited, and Bryan Wentzell, Maine Mountain Collaborative