Sec. 2. Department authority. Resolved: That the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has the sole discretion in the placement, design and maintenance of the public boat launch.

This resolve requires the transfer of jurisdiction of a parcel of land from the Department of Conservation to the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to construct a public boat launch on Branch Lake in Hancock County.

Link to State of Maine Legislature - Bill LD 824

Below are the committee members to hear the bill and a partial list of email addresses:

Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry

Senator Bruce S. Bryant (D-Oxford), Chair 562-8224
Senator Richard Kneeland (R-Aroostook) 488-5311
Senator Edward M. Youngblood (R-Penobscot) 989-2190
Representative Linda Rogers McKee (D-Wayne), Chair 685-4385
Representative Jacqueline A. Lundeen (D-Mars Hill) 429-8558
Representative Raymond G. Pineau (D-Jay) 897-3898
Representative John F. Piotti (D-Unity) 437-2493
Representative Nancy E. Smith (D-Monmouth) 933-2707
Representative Roderick W. Carr (R-Lincoln) 794-3911
Representative Ken Honey (R-Boothbay) 633-5560
Representative Eugene L. Churchill (R-Orland) 469-2277
Representative Kenneth C. Fletcher (R-Winslow) 872-6760
Representative John Eder (G-Portland) 774-0177

house67@exploremaine.com
Kneeland@mfx.net
senateemy@aol.com
repdist79@aol.com
srm@ainop.com
rapineau@megalink.net
RepJohn.Piotti@legislature.maine.gov
RepNancy.Smith@legislature.maine.gov
roddy@telplus.net
fletcher2@adelphia.net
RepJohn.Eder@legislature.maine.gov

Letter to City Council

To: City Council
From: Timothy J. King, City Manager
Subject: LD 824 "Resolve to Improve Fisheries Management in Hancock County"
Date: March 20, 2003

The LD is scheduled for a public hearing before the Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Committee at 10 AM, Monday, March 24. I will be attending this hearing as will Councilor/Representative Crosthwaite and possibly Council Chairman Beal. We will be speaking in opposition.

Council Chairman Beal, Councilor/Representative Crosthwaite and I met with Herb Hartman and George Powell of the Department of Conservation and a representative from Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to discuss the city’s opposition to LD 824 and the feasibility of constructing a public boat launch on Branch Pond. Van Terrell of the Branch Pond Association was unable to attend but did speak with Herb Hartman during the meeting to share the concerns of the BPA.

The city enumerated a number of concerns about the construction of a boat launch and what conditions would have to be met to obtain city approval. These include; 1) monitoring to prevent introduction of Milfoil and other foreign fauna; 2) the size of the facility would have to be limited to 20-30 boat trailers, 3) the vehicle access to the facility would have to be gated and closed at night, and 4) the facility has to be supervised when it is open. Overall these concerns are quite similar to those of the BPA. Councilor Crosthwaite reminded the attendees that Branch Pond is the city’s public water supply.

The representatives from Conservation and IF&W both stated that their departments were not responsible for the introduction of the bill. The representative from Inland Fisheries & Wildlife said that sport fishermen have frequently complained about the lack of public access to Branch Pond. He also thought the city’s description of the size of the parking area that could serve the boat launch facility was too small. IF&W had made a significant investment of fish stocking in Branch Pond but have now ceased fish stocking because fishermen have no access to the pond. He also said that the lack of stocking deep-water fish would have a significant impact on the fishery populations in just a few years as the shallow-water fish start to dominate.

Herb Hartman from the Department of Conservation briefly outlined the recent history of the attempts to place a boat launch on Branch Pond. A comprehensive review had been undertaken of Branch Pond to determine suitable boat launch locations. In their opinion the best location is on the state-owned land at the end of Branchview Drive.

They envision a limited size facility with parking for 20-30 vehicles, a boat launch, and possibly walking trails (no camp sites). They estimate the cost of construction to be $175,000 plus an additional $300,000 to $400,000 if an access road is constructed from Happytown Road.

George Powell explained the current state program for education and control of Milfoil. The city again stated that having trained supervision of the boat launch during operating hours and controlled gate access was the only level of prevention that would be satisfactory to the city.

The representative from IF&W interjected that they had counted as many as 40 private boat launch facilities on Branch Pond near camps many of which were erosion problems. He thought providing a public boat launch and closing these private launches would reduce the risk of Milfoil infestations. The city manager stated that he thought such facilities were remote risks because most of the camp owners leave their boats at their camps or in relative close-proximity.

Herb Hartman thought that the department might be able to address the concerns for evening access to the facility. He stated that the department would not install a "wash station" nor provide a full time attendant.

Mr. Hartman stated that the public hearing on the bill was scheduled for Monday, March 24 at 10 AM. He suggested that the Department of Conservation’s position would be to request the committee to hold the bill in workshop for a couple of weeks to determine if the various parties could reach some agreement.