I am determined to educate the people of Maine about public and private land issues that are facing them today. These issues will determine the future of Maine citizen’s access to land all across the state.

As many of you know, I have followed the Baxter land swap ever since the deal was made public and as most of you know, I stood most often alone in my opposition to it. Since then a lot of water has passed under the bridge and new developements have arisen that sheds new light on how Maine should proceed with our land issues.

In that resolve, I decided to begin contacting key Maine people, the movers and shakers in the state’s recreational fields and key politicians including the three major contenders for Maine’s governor, Baldacci, Woodcock and Merrill. I have asked them if they would like to submit to me a statement regarding the Baxter land swap issue, the purchase of land adjacent to Baxter State Park by Roxanne Quimby and public land issues and access in general.

I have no idea how many I will get but I do feel strongly enough that if enough people become educated as to the wheeling and dealing that has taken place over this entire debacle, it could very well determine who gets into the Blaine House come November.

As I get statements from those solicited, I will post them here with a link where you can read the entire statement.

The first statement I received was from George Smith, Executive Director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine. Follow this link to read his statement.

The best way for those interested in catching up on all the posts about the Baxter land swap and associated stories, is to begin by clicking on “Baxter Land Swap” category title just to your left in the lefthand column. From there you can follow provided links to other articles.

Tom Remington