The great outdoors is a source of enjoyment and restoration for so many Mainers. But it is also a political battlefield.
And no wonder why. With canoeists, paper companies, bear hunters, animal watchers, backpackers, loggers, fishermen and developers all trying to share the same space, there are bound to be conflicts.
With two of the most passionate warriors for the outdoors — George Smith and Brownie Carson — retiring this year, Maine’s political landscape seems likely to change.
Smith, executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, announced last month that he would step down later this year. SAM expects to name a new director by July 1.
Smith has been involved with SAM for 30 years, 19 of them as executive director. He has become perhaps the best-known lobbyist in Maine, and he has been involved in some tough political scraps.
Smith and his sister, Edie Smith, led a successful effort in 2004 against a referendum to prohibit bear hunting over bait.
Earlier this year, Smith was a key opponent of a bill to set up a saltwater fishing registry.
Whether you agreed with Smith or not — and many did not — you had to respect the energy and determination he brought to representing the state’s hunters and fishermen.
Everett “Brownie” Carson announced Thursday that he would step down as executive director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine. He will remain until a new director is hired.
Carson joined the council in 1983 and has seen it grow from seven staffers to 23, and its membership from several thousand to more than 12,000, according to a story in Friday’s Press Herald.
During that time, Carson and the NRCM have fought the Plum Creek development near Moosehead Lake, the Big A dam on the West Branch of the Penobscot, and led efforts to remove the Edwards Dam on the Kennebec.
“He is Mr. NRCM,” Ted Koffman, executive director of Maine Audubon, told the Press Herald.
Both Carson and Smith have become respected advocates for their constituencies. While we are sure they will stay involved, they will be missed in their leadership roles.
Both men are 62 years old. True to form, Carson says he wants to spend more time in Maine’s outdoors, and Smith wants to do more hunting and fishing.
They certainly deserve an extended opportunity to enjoy the resources they helped to enlarge and defend.
editorialboard@sunjournal.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
