Last month, Governor Mills announced five new Land for Maine’s Future projects, continuing her commitment to preserving and protecting Maine lands, including our working forests and waterfronts and land for hunting and fishing. That commitment from Mills, an avid angler, stands in stark contrast to her predecessor Paul LePage, who fought conservation efforts throughout his eight years in office, denying Maine sportsmen and women further opportunities to hunt and fish.
During his tenure, LePage opposed the Land for Maine’s Future (LMF) program, the primary funding source for land conservation in the state, at nearly every turn. He blocked new conservation spending and allowed $6.5 million in voter-approved LMF bonds to expire. The governor’s opposition held up a number of conservation projects across the state and drew criticism from Maine’s sportsmen and women, with the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine going as far as to say that, because of LePage, “once-in-a-lifetime investments in rural Maine jobs and wildlife are drawing dangerously close to collapse.”
That’s no longer the case thanks to Governor Mills and Democrats in the Maine Legislature. After LePage left office, Governor Mills worked with the Legislature on a bipartisan proposal to refund the conservation program through one of the largest cash infusions for conservation in Maine’s history. The investments come as record numbers of people are visiting Maine’s outdoors, and applications for conservation projects are surging.
“There is nothing that unites Mainers more than our love and respect for the beautiful lands and waters of our state,” said Drew Gattine, Chair of the Maine Democratic Party. “That’s why we are so thankful to Governor Mills for rejuvenating the Land for Maine’s Future program after Paul LePage opposed it for many years. Maine people love the outdoors, and we know that if LePage wins, he will only put our progress towards preserving and protecting our cherished land for hunters and fishermen and all of posterity at risk.”
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