Maine lawmakers have killed a piece of legislation that would have expanded a conservation easement that now protects two-thirds of Sears Island.
The bill would have protected the entirety of the island from development, but the Maine Senate rejected it in a 24-9 vote on Tuesday, after the House of Representatives opposed it 76-68 one week earlier.
Currently, about 600 acres of the state-owned Sears Island are now legally protected under a conservation easement that was first approved in 2009, while the remaining 330 acres can be developed for transportation reasons.
State officials have pursued a range of development projects on that third of the island over the years, including an ongoing effort to build a port facility for a future offshore wind industry.
Local activists have opposed that project, arguing that the wind port should instead be pursued on private land on nearby Mack Point that’s already used for industrial purposes. They’ve argued that developing Sears Island would harm wildlife and remove wooded land that area residents now use for recreation.
“Maine DOT’s push for an industrial port on Sears Island has … [wasted] millions in taxpayer money and torn the community apart,” said Rep. Reagan Paul, R-Winterport, the bill’s sponsor, during a March 12 hearing
But the legislation that would have expanded the protections of Sears Island, LD 226, was opposed by state officials who argued that the wind port would bring about economic development, new employment opportunities and its own environmental benefits — including advancing the state’s goals of moving off fossil fuels. They’ve argued that Sears Island is a better site for the wind port than Mack Point, in part because it has better access to deep waters.
The Maine Department of Transportation has faced some setbacks in its effort to develop the wind port, including failing to obtain a $456 million federal grant last October.