More than 15,000,000 tourists visited Maine in 2023. The tourism industry supports some 131,000 jobs and generates some $16.4 billion in economic impact. Tourism is dependent on Maine’s environment. Maine’s environment is Maine’s economy.
Sears Island is a unique gem located in mid-coast Maine. The island and adjacent mainland could provide an excellent important tourist destination due to its location on the way to and from Acadia National Park.
Gov. Janet Mills limited the search for a windport to Eastport and Searsport, ignoring more than 3,000 miles of the coast, much of which is already developed.
I do not support offshore windpower. I do not support using our tax dollars to build a windport. I do support consideration of developed portions of our coastal mainland for power generation using small vertical turbines that would be ecologically friendly and not damage or destroy coastal viewsheds. I do support preserving all of Sears Island in perpetuity as a state park. I also support replacing a portion of the causeway to the island with a short bridge to help to restore the natural tidal flow which was destroyed when the causeway was built.
Maine’s coast is the state’s primary tourism draw and one of the features that makes our state so special. Despoiling Sears Island to build a windport will not only destroy the character of the island, but the character of much of the mid-coast. This could result in less tourism overall and a negative impact to Maine’s economy.
