A real croaker of a proposal
The state Legislature would be doing property owners of this state a severe disservice if it were to support a proposal that would restrict property owners from developing their property if that property includes vernal pools.
On page 14 this week, a story by State House reporter Victoria Wallack describes a proposal that would make it illegal in Maine to develop within 325 feet of a vernal pool. Vernal pools are puddles or ponds that fill in the spring and provide a breeding ground for little creatures such as fairy shrimp, frogs and salamanders. A vernal pool, in other words, is a fancy term for a puddle in your backyard that fills up when water is high and dries up during the rest of the year.
Even though the intended beneficiaries of this proposal are small in size, this proposal is no small matter. In southern Maine, vernal pools dot the landscape. In York County, each square mile has between eight and 30 of these vernal pools. The smallest vernal pool could be a puddle, but if it’s an annually recurring puddle where fairy shrimp, frogs or salamanders like to spend their time, property owners could be out of luck when it comes time to develop the surrounding property to build additions or new homes.
Obviously, a proposal that would limit building so severely would be the ultimate coup for extreme environmentalists, whose push to contain building development has been gaining momentum for decades.
This is particularly bad law when you consider many new homeowners buy their homes during times of the year other than spring and have no clue their property borders a vernal pool. Can you imagine the anger and financial hardship this proposal could cause? It would turn the American Dream into an American Nightmare.
And what if a property owner ignores the law and decides to develop near a vernal pool? Well, according to the Natural Resources Protection Act, under which this statute would fall, owners could be fined, or, worse still, forced to alter or tear down what they have built in order to protect these little creatures.
Let’s have a moment of clarity here; these creatures are tough. They can adapt and survive quite well. Didn’t we learn in science class that salamanders are descended from dinosaurs? As such, doesn’t this mean they are one of the oldest creatures on earth? It seems that they’ve done all right thus far. And, concerning the frogs, all one hears while traveling the roads of Maine is the sound of peepers calling for prospective mates in the springtime. It can be deafening!
Their beautiful hum is proof of several things. One is that there is a boatload of vernal pools around the state, especially in southern Maine where development occurs more than in other parts of the state. And, secondly, because of their prosperous numbers, it is silly to think these creatures can’t coexist with us humans. In fact, it seems just the opposite is taking place.
So, to all you property owners out there, especially those of you who would like to someday develop your property or expand your own home, now’s the time to influence your legislators to say no to this environmental imposition and put common sense and property rights ahead of leftist land use policies that have no basis in reality.
-John Balentine, editor
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