I’m headed to Augusta for a Feb. 6 public hearing of some consequence to Washington County, rural Maine, the 2nd Congressional District, and Maine as a whole.

LD 183, An Act to Cap Publicly Owned Land Area at No More than 50 Percent of Any County, is sponsored by House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, R-Winter Harbor, and the entire Washington County delegation. Here’s the summary:

This bill limits publicly owned land in the State to no more than 50% of the land area in any county. The bill also allows the State, a county or a municipality to exceed the limits with the approval of 2/3 of each House of the Legislature. The Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry is required to report biannually beginning April 15, 2026 to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over public lands matters on the percentage of federal, state, county and municipal property ownership statewide and by county.

In 2020, Maine adopted a Climate Action Plan goal of 30 percent of the State in Public Conservation ownership by 2030.

In 2021, LD 324, An Act To Limit Public Land Ownership in Maine, was sponsored by Rep. Kathy Javner, R-Chester, at my request. (Cooper was part of her district), and co-sponsored by Sen. Moore, R-Calais, and Rep. Tuell, R-East Machias, as well as Senator Davis, R-Piscataquis, and Rep. Stanley, R-Medway. Here’s the summary:

This bill limits publicly owned land in the State to no more than 33% of the total land area of the State and 50% of the land area in any county. The bill also allows the State or a municipality to exceed the limits with the approval of 2/3 of each House of the Legislature. The Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry is required to report biannually beginning April 15, 2022 to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over public lands matters on the percentage of federal and state property ownership statewide and by county

The Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry opposed LD 324 and reported back to the committee that approximately 15% of the State was in public (federal, state, and local) conservation ownership, with Washington and Piscataquis counties leading the State with 29.9%, closely followed by Somerset at 27.2%

ACF presented a county-by-county data table, which I later had made into this map:

We couldn’t even get a roll call vote.

The 2024 Climate Action Plan Update reaffirmed the 30% Public Conservation goal and stated that approximately 22% of Maine was in public conservation holdings, an increase of almost 50% in under three years, more than a million acres. There was no county breakdown presented.

I am unaware of any major State or Federal acquisitions in Maine since 2021. Most of the change appears to be the result of opaque and near-opaque changes in dataset definitions. Metrics ambiguity and a lack of transparency are not confidence-building attributes.

Regardless of how much of Maine is actually in Public Conservation Ownership, the 30% goal cannot be achieved without continuing to emphasize acquisitions in the 2nd Congressional District, especially as it is abundantly clear that there is no prospect for significant acquisitions in the 1st Congressional District. Sagadahoc, the lead County in the 1st, is at 6.9%, which is less than half to a third of whatever the actual state average is.

There are benefits and burdens to public lands, subject to both increasing marginal costs and diminishing marginal benefits. Concentrating public lands in the 2nd Congressional District and rural Maine has an adverse disparate impact on our tax base and development opportunities. The three poorest counties have most of their economic opportunities clipped.

I was going to argue that approving the cap would be the most equitable thing to do, but that’s problematic. The Climate Action Plan has a big component of equity, but in another metrics meltdown, the Governor’s Deputy Legal Counsel has admitted there is no definition of equity in the Climate Action Plan. Indeed, it appears there is no definition of equity anywhere in Maine State Government or the University of Maine System. It’s kind of hard to argue something is unfair when there is no definition of fairness or one that is constantly mutating. It’s actually…. inequitable.

LD 183 is the first of three bills Leader Faulkingham has submitted in response to the climate alarmist policies being promulgated by Governor Mills and the Democrats. The other two address the fundamental lack of honesty, transparency, and effectiveness in our climate alarmist policies. They are not yet out of the Revisor's Office, but additional Augusta forays and columns are on the horizon.

The hearing is slated for 9 a.m. in the Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Committee Room (Cross Building 214). Members of the public who can’t make it to Augusta may also testify via Zoom or submit written testimony at https://www.mainelegislature.org/testimony/