There has been endless debate about the New England Clean Energy Connect for the past two years. While I support the project, I understand the concerns opponents have, except for one. This new section of the corridor will not run through a pristine forest, and claims that it is are either misinformed or flat out lies.
I urge those with any doubts to take a trip to West Forks or Johnson Mountain so they can see them with their own eyes. What they will discover is a forest that is checkered with logging roads in all directions and woods that have been clear-cut and heavily forested for decades.
This alone should ease concerns about Maine’s scenic beauty being forever scarred. But those who are still not convinced should take this into consideration: the Maine Department of Environmental protection reduced the width of the corridor from 150 feet to 53 feet. That is less than the distance between a pitcher’s mound and home plate.
If people have other concerns that are preventing them from supporting the NECEC, that is certainly their right. But they should not let the false claims of Maine’s woods being irreversibly tarnished fool them. That is simply not the case.
Alex Titcomb, Bowdoin
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