Bills revive debate over #SearsIsland port plan

Maine Public | By Peter McGuire
Published March 12, 2025

"Lawmakers heard more than five hours of testimony Wednesday from both sides of a debate over preserving Sears Island in the Town of #Searsport.

"A pair of bills from state representative Reagan Paul would extend a #ConservationEasement across the island and restore #SandDuneProtections in a 330-acre parcel set aside for development.

"The Winterport Republican said it's time to end decades of controversial port proposals for the island in the town of Searsport. The latest plan is a floating offshore wind port by the Maine Department of Transportation that has so far failed to attract federal funding.

"'And yet #MDOT refuses to face reality, doubling down on failure and proving this is not about offshore wind, it is about pushing #IndustrialDevelopment at any cost,' Paul told members of the legislature's Environment and Natural Resources Committee.

"Local #conservationists support the proposal and said the highest and best use of the island is as a wild area. Any commercial development, including the wind port, can be done at nearby #MackPoint, a fuel and materials terminal."

Read more:
https://www.mainepublic.org/climate/2025-03-12/bills-revive-debate-over-sears-island-port-plan
#SaveSearsIsland #ProtectNature #Maine #WindTurbines #WindPort #PenobscotBay #ProtectSearsIsland #ProtectTheForest #ProtectTheDunes #WindTerminal #SandDunes #ProtectWahsumkik #EndangeredSpecies

#Siletz Celebrate Historic #LandBack Deal

Tribe’s focus will be #restoration, #preservation and #cultural uses like #FirstFoods for the 2,000-acre site at the base of #TableRocks in Southern #Oregon.

by Nika Bartoo-Smith, Underscore + ICT January 17, 2025

"The property was purchased directly from the previous landowner. The #NatureConservancy preserves a #ConservationEasement on the land. The Siletz will continue to work closely with The Nature Conservancy and the BLM across the properties in the region to emphasize conservation and restoration.

Expanding access to first foods

"Moving forward, the tribe’s goal is to create opportunities for Siletz tribal members to access the historically significant land while safeguarding its character. The nation plans to work on preservation and restoration, focusing on protecting the natural area rather than developing it.

“'There will be big opportunities for restoration and enhancement of the food plants themselves,' [Robert] Kentta said. '[And] also enhancing tribal members’ access to use of and reconnection with those resources that we’ve been separated from.'

"Kentta mentioned some important first foods of the region that he hopes will become a focus at the property, including #camas, #tarweed and #yampah root. The land will also be used for other cultural purposes.

"Chairman Pigsley spoke of her hope that future generations of Siletz people will be able to go up to the rocks, hearing important stories and learning about the plant and animal relatives all around."

Read more:
https://www.underscore.news/land/siletz-celebrate-historic-land-back-deal/
#SolarPunkSunday #Rewilding #Restoring #Nature #NativeAmericanNews #RogueRiverTribe #ConferatedTribesOfSiletz

#Landback:
The #legal obstacles and internal #policies of #landtrusts prevent the simple transfer of land without a #conservationeasement. As #sovereign peoples in our own land, we refuse to have land returned to us with #contingencies in place, other than those already in place by city, county, state, and federal governments- Cordero, for Association of #Ramaytush #Ohlone.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/christophermarquis/2023/05/02/california-land-back-the-movement-for-indigenous-sovereignty-and-land-restoration/