"I am not a terrorist." This was the response from Judy East of the Washington County Council of Governments, who was moderating a meeting regarding the new shoreland zoning rules being implemented by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The new rules have led to passionate feelings and statements, especially from those opposed to the new restrictions, in meetings from Lubec to Machias and Addison.

     The focus of these discussions is a change made to the Natural Resources Protection Act (NRPA) in LD 1981, passed during the last legislative session. Aspects of the bill dealing with vernal pools, or areas which are wet only part of the year and provide habitat for a variety of species, were widely discussed and debated, but the provision revising shorebird protections was less noticed. The bill was recommended out of committee with a unanimous "ought to pass" recommendation and passed the House of Representatives with one vote in opposition and the Senate without opposition and without a recorded vote. It was passed as an emergency measure, to take effect on the governor's signature, in order to provide more seasons of data about vernal pools, according to several legislators.

      The bill extends protection for habitat used by migrating shorebirds for nesting or feeding from the previous 75 feet from high water to 250 feet from high water. Although the new rules apply statewide, the effect C and the furor they have engendered C is greater in Washington County than in other areas. Supporters and opponents of the new rule cite three reasons for this disparity. More of the shoreline will be placed under the regulations, as they will affect roughly 17 percent of Washington County coastline, compared to 16 percent in Cumberland County and about 14 percent in York County, according to state figures. Also, since the rules do not affect properties already developed, the more-developed areas in southern Maine will not see the impact that will be felt in Washington County, which has much more undeveloped waterfront land. Finally, much of southern and mid-coast Maine already has local zoning in place, whereas many Washington County towns have no zoning beyond that mandated by the state, so that residents and developers are less used to dealing with permits and other requirements when building.

     Richard Bard, a wildlife biologist with the state, appeared on September 28 at a meeting at the University of Maine at Machias. The meeting had been originally scheduled to deal with issues of timber harvesting, but Bard spent a good part of the meeting speaking and answering questions about the shoreland zoning to an audience of well over 100 local residents, municipal officials and real estate developers. Bard said that he wanted "to correct some errors" that had come up in discussion of the new regulations. He said, "All regulations are in effect now, except for the vernal pools." He also explained, "Some habitats only go to high tide, not always the full 250 feet." Finally, he emphasized that both the DEP and the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IF&W) "have made a commitment to respond to individual landowners. We can do an initial consultation if you have a project coming up, and we will come out to your property."

     Norm Hunt, a farmer and developer seeking to build on land in Lubec, said that the state has "shredded the constitution. Someone has dictated, mandated, not by, for, of the people." He said that he has spent $1,500 submitting an application to the state and has still not received a permit. Debbie Holmes, a local realtor, spoke in opposition to the new rules saying that "legislators that I talked with, who voted for this, did not know about it. The towns did not know about it." Warren Foley, the chairman of the planning board in Lubec, pointed out, "These people [the DEP and IF&W representatives] cannot change this. It's the legislature. We need to get ahold of our legislators and amend it."

      The meeting grew more heated, with an exchange between Lubec landowner Erich Veyhl and Tom Finlay, the Democratic candidate for the state senate seat currently held by Kevin Raye. "Your legislators voted for this," Finlay said from the floor. Veyhl responded that Raye had not voted for it. After a back-and-forth, Veyhl seemed to concede that Raye had, saying, "But he didn't know anything about it," which drew a reply from Finlay of, "But he should have known when he voted."

      Then Hunt said that he was "terrorized" by the new rules and that the government were "terrorists," which prompted East's statement that she was not a terrorist. East then directed the meeting on to cover the material for which it had been scheduled for C changes to regulations regarding timber harvesting.

      Members of the legislature from Washington County, Rep. Ian Emery of Cutler and Senator Kevin Raye of Perry, have both vowed to introduce legislation in the next session to review the changes and adjust them as needed.