The Passamaquoddy Tribe has entered into another environmental offset program that will generate funds for the tribe as its lands compensate for ecological impacts at other locations. With the tribe already having received millions through the carbon credit program, with its lands in Maine offsetting emissions from polluters on the other side of the country, it now has approved an agreement for an easement on its blueberry barrens to offset loss of habitat for a protected species at a new solar farm just down the coast in Maine.
     Dirigo Solar, the state's leading developer of large-scale solar projects, is planning a new 60-acre solar farm in Hancock that will produce enough electricity to power a couple of thousand homes. Work is expected to begin this month and be completed by the end of the year.
     Robert Cleaves, the co-founder of Dirigo Solar, relates that during the permitting process the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW) requested that the company study the presence on the lands of the upland sandpiper, which is a protected species under Maine law. An ornithologist concluded that the area does provide habitat for the breeding of upland sandpipers, which like blueberry barrens. The solar farm land will continue to operate as a blueberry farm, but there could be a loss of habitat for the species because of the solar panels.
     The DEP and IFW told the company it could develop the solar farm but would have to compensate for the loss of species habitat by finding a comparable site in Downeast Maine with habitat that could be protected for the length of term of the project, which is 40 years.
     Cleaves says they were aware of the Passamaquoddy Wild Blueberry Company's lands, which have two important factors: the significant size of the land holdings and their documented presence. "The company has focused on keeping the land in open space as agricultural land," he notes.
     Dirigo Solar then negotiated a price with the blueberry company, with the solar company to make a one-time payment of $400,000 for the 40-year easement. The easement will be on 311 acres in Township 19. The tribal company will be required to keep the fields open and not build any structures on them but can still harvest blueberries on the lands. Brian Altvater, president of the board of the Passamaquoddy Wild Blueberry Company, says, "It won't change what we're doing."
     While the blueberry company has its own board of directors, it consults with the Passamaquoddy Joint Tribal Council, which has overall responsibility for all tribal businesses and lands and had to approve the agreement. On April 2 the joint council voted 6-3 in favor, with one member abstaining.
     Altvater notes there was some distrust by certain tribal members about the agreement, with some confused about the difference between a lease and an easement. "We don't want to lease tribal lands. This is an easement," he says, noting that there will be no occupancy of the lands or any third party involved. "It's just making habitat available for the upland sandpiper." Others were concerned about how the money the blueberry company receives will be spent. Altvater notes that the company's responsibility is to realize profits, which are used for the company's capital expenditures, with any remaining profit sent to the joint council.
     Altvater observes that the council has not met on a regular basis for years, which makes it difficult for the company to conduct business. He also notes that the blueberry company, which had successfully sued Cherryfield Foods for breach of contract for not buying its berries in 2017, now has a new 10-year contract with Wyman's.
     Of the offset agreement, Cleaves says, "It's a win-win-win -- three wins. It allows for us to move forward with our project. The blueberry company continues to do what they've been doing, as long as they don't build structures that impact the species. And it's a win for the species, as there's not a loss of habitat."
     Altvater agrees it's a "win-win situation," with habitat being preserved for the upland sandpipers and income being provided to the tribal company, which will not have to change any of its practices for growing and harvesting wild blueberries. "We've designated land to offset the parcels in Hancock," says Altvater, who also notes that the solar farm is "green" power that is environmentally safe.
     Cleaves says the offset agreement works like carbon credit agreements, which the tribe also benefits from through its forestlands that sequester carbon. In both cases, Cleaves says, "That ecological value provides benefit that is a way for the Passamaquoddy to be compensated for that benefit."