Letters submitted by BDN readers are verified by BDN Opinion Page staff. Send your letters to [email protected]
I strongly disagree with the Jan. 12 Bangor Daily News editorial advocating for a wind port on Sears Island. The island is a vital migratory stopover for tens of thousands of birds in the spring and fall. Most of these birds are passing through the island, and even likely coming from nearby Isleboro, heading toward the mainland. Building a wind port on the island, with massive steel cranes, towers and turbines reaching several hundred feet high would create deadly hazards. Tall structures such as these are much like city skyscrapers, and they cause collision strikes, killing scores of migrants each year. Development and subsequent work would be noisy, require electrical lighting through nighttime hours, clear vegetation vital to these birds and allow for vehicle traffic, which is now prohibited. All this would adversely impact both wildlife and the island’s many recreational uses.
To argue that the state purchased Sears Island for a port, therefore, it must be used for a port, is a myopic view ignoring the supreme value of setting aside the entire island for conservation. It is doubtful that the passage of so many migrant birds through Sears Island was even recognized when the state purchased the island. Has the state done the needed environmental impact studies that the port would have on these birds, including state-threatened species?
It is sadly ironic that this “green” energy project would come at such a high cost to one of Maine’s natural wonders, especially since heavily developed Mack Point is already available.
John Wyatt
Winterport
