You Are Not Welcome Here

My family doesn’t post our property.  We never have, for as far back as I can remember.  My grandparents owned many acres, as did my parents, and there was never a “No Trespassing” sign posted on trees. 

My husband and I are lucky enough to own 70 acres of forest.  We feel fortunate to be able to step off our front porch and take a walk in the woods and we want everyone to have that same freedom and ability.  When I was a child, almost all of Maine was ‘open’.  It was rare to see a “No Trespassing” sign and Mainers were able to roam the forests and fields and mountains to experience that ‘quality of place’ and quality of life that is so integral to our contentment. 

A shiny silver Ford pick-up drove out of the driveway to our orchard.  That was not a big deal.  It happens all the time in November, since this is the height of deer hunting season.  The truck then proceeded up the road and stopped beside our house.  Since my husband has just gotten into his Blazer to take our son to work, he got out and walked over to the Ford.

He noticed the GPS antenna mounted on the front of the hood.  He asked the driver what was up.

The driver informed my husband that he and his partner were ‘fixing the positions’ of residences in the area for a survey they were conducting.

Mr. Pease asked them who they were working for.

The driver informed him that his client wished for its identity to remain confidential.

Mr. Pease said, “Oh.  Iberdrola, huh?”

The men became deer in the headlights.  Kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar.  They shut their mouths.  Stick a fork in them—they were done!

It’s easy to have the last word when the other party won’t speak—but the words my husband uttered could not have come easy, nonetheless.  He’s the kindest, gentlest, most generous man I know.  But he meant what he said when he told those wind industry surveyors that they were not welcome on our land--that he knew he couldn’t prevent them from using the county right-of-way to invade our privacy or help a foreign company threaten our way of life, but he could forbid them from stepping foot—or driving tire—onto our property.

This is a tough battle we’re fighting.  We don’t have anything against those men—not personally.  Those contractors are Mainers who are “just doing their job”.  But as a friend from Vinalhaven said of the construction workers who built the Fox Island Wind turbines near his island home: “YOUR job has ruined MY life.”  Those six words sum it up quite succinctly.

That shiny, decked out Ford (and yes, I went outside and got their license plate number) which was driven so nonchalantly onto the property we generously share with all may very well have been purchased with money earned by work that was done for an industry which is negatively impacting the lives of hundreds of Mainers.

So, no.  We don’t post our property, and unless something drastic occurs--we won’t.  But let this be public notice that anyone working for an industrial wind developer--whether directly, or indirectly as a subcontractor--is not welcome at The F.A.R.M.  If you’re going to try to plot and plan how to sidestep the wishes of more than 77% of the residents of Lexington Township, you’re going to have to do it without our help.  If you don’t care that we have stood together and said “NO!” you will not be the beneficiary of our largesse.  We will not harbor you, we will not welcome you—and we will not hesitate to firmly escort you off and arrange for your transport to the county jail if you come onto our property without having express and written permission from my husband or me.

I can't make this any clearer.  You are not welcome at The F.A.R.M. and you are not welcome in Lexington Township.  Or in Concord, or in Highland.  Accept defeat, please.  You are not welcome here and I am just one voice of many asking you to respect us and abandon your plans for wind developments in these three communities.

Voices of Support

Today, the residents of Lexington and Concord Townships and Highland Plantation, Maine, took a stand.  In a press conference in the State Capitol, we requested that Iberdrola Renewables and Highland Wind LLC abandon their wind development plans due to the fact that a majority of the residents signed petitions in opposition to grid-scale wind developments in our communities.  We also asked Governor LePage to support our colllective will by using the powers of his office to remove us from the Expedited Permitting Area.  Our Senator, our Representative and our Somerset County Commissioners showed their support--for which we are grateful.  Below is the letter sent by Rep. Larry Dunphy, District 88. House of Representatives 2 State House Station Augusta, Maine 04333-0002 (207) 287-1440 TTY: (207) 287-4469

Larry Dunphy PO Box 331 North Anson, ME 04958 Residence: (207) 635-2831 Skime2@roadrunner.com

                             

November 14, 2011

To Whom it May Concern:

This is a noteworthy day.  Today, Maine citizens—American citizens–are standing up and stepping forward to make sure that they have a ‘say’ in determining the future of their communities.

Constituents from three communities in my district have spoken, and I intend to support them.   Just as I will respect majority votes in New Portland or Bingham or Caratunk, so will I defend the determination made by the citizens of Highland, Lexington and Concord.  They have spoken and their voices echo a resounding “No!” to industrial wind turbine facilities on the ridgelines in their communities.  I urge Iberdrola Renewables and Highland Wind to abandon their development plans for this particular corner of rural Somerset County and I urge the Governor to support these citizens.  The People have spoken.  We need to listen. 

The current Administration has vowed to put “People before politics”.  Under former Governor John Baldacci, the Wind Energy Act was marketed as a panacea for our energy problems.  But since those panic-driven days of 2008, we have learned much about the impacts and the benefits of wind-generated electricity.  People were not put before politics when the Wind Energy Act, favoring one industry, rezoned 2/3 of the State of Maine as an industrial zone for grid-scale wind facilities.

My constituents in Highland, Lexington and Concord have been proactive.  They’ve educated themselves about this issue and they’ve made their desires known.  They were denied input when their community was rezoned, but they are speaking on the record today.  This isn’t a secret ballot.  My constituents feel strongly about this issue.  They have publicly put their names on a ballot and sealed it with their signatures.  As their Representative, it is my intention to support their votes.

Sincerely,

Larry Dunphy

Anson, Bingham, Caratunk, Carrabassett Valley, Embden, Jackman, Moose River, Moscow, New Portland, Wellington and Plantations of Brighton, Coplin, Dennistown, Highland, Pleasant Ridge, The Forks and West Forks, plus the unorganized territories of Concord, Lexington, and Wyman Townships, Northeast Somerset (including Rockwood Strip), Northwest Somerset and Seboomook Lake

Voices of Somerset County--A Press Release

Once again, the names Lexington and Concord are in the forefront of a People’s right to self-determination.  As the Colonials did in 1775, the citizens of these Maine communities are facing what would seem to be an overwhelming force from abroad.

  But citizens in Lexington and Concord Townships--and in Highland Plantation, too--will not be intimidated.  We're taking a stand.  Speaking up.

And saying "No!"

PRESS RELEASE

Who:  FRIENDS OF THE HIGHLAND MOUNTAINS

When:   November 17, 2011; 11:00 a.m.

Where: Hall of Flags, State Capitol, Augusta, ME

Contacts: Alan Michka; (207) 628-2014 or 860-8714; Karen Pease; (207) 628-2070 or 340-0066

RESIDENTS OF THREE SOMERSET COUNTY COMMUNITIES ASK GOVERNOR LEPAGE TO HELP THEM PROTECT THEIR HOMES AND QUALITY OF LIFE FROM MULTIPLE WIND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.

A majority of the residents of Highland Plantation and Concord and Lexington Townships are expressing opposition to the wind development plans of former Governor Angus King’s Highland Wind LLC and Iberdrola Renewables, a subsidiary of Spain-based Iberdrola SA, and the largest operator of wind turbines in the world.  Highland Wind LLC is backed by the Yale University Endowment.

In an ongoing petition effort, a majority of the voting age residents have, so far, signed petitions stating their opposition to industrial wind development within their respective communities.  In Lexington, seventy-seven percent (77%) of residents have already signed.  Many of the communities’ non-resident property owners have also shown their opposition by signing the petition. 

In 2010, Ignacio Galan, chairman of Iberdrola Group, told the Portland Press Herald that “If Maine signals that it’s no longer friendly to wind power, the global energy company will expand elsewhere.”  Alan Michka, a resident of Lexington says “The Concord and Lexington petitions make it clear that these communities are not friendly to Iberdrola’s plans.  Hopefully, Iberdrola will make good on their threat to expand elsewhere.  Certainly, they’re not welcome here.” 

Many Maine towns have passed ordinances that effectively restrict wind power development within their borders.  Plantations and unorganized townships such as Concord and Lexington, however, have no legal means to protect their communities with such ordinances.

“If 51% of the registered voters in any Maine town came out against a wind development, it would not be permitted,” says Karen Pease, another Lexington resident.  “It simply would not be built.  Period, end of story.  In this case, we have 77% speaking in opposition.  Rural areas of Maine have been targeted for industrial development, and citizens who live here were not allowed to have a say before these Unorganized Territories were rezoned.  Our communities have spoken decisively.  We do not want grid-scale wind facilities to be built within our borders.  We must not be disenfranchised simply because we live in rural Maine.”

At the conclusion of the press conference, copies of the petitions will be delivered to Governor LePage’s office along with a letter asking the Governor to use his executive powers to remove Highland Plantation, Concord and Lexington from the state’s Expedited Permitting Area (EPA), thereby fully restoring the voice of residents and property owners in the future of their communities.  Removal from the EPA does not prevent wind energy development, but requires the developer to secure approval for a change of zoning, an action that allows the residents to weigh in on the proposed change.  Petition results and an appeal for support will also be delivered to key legislators, state agencies and the Somerset County Commissioners in an effort to draw their attention to the residents’ effort to protect their community from the negative impacts of industrial scale wind development.

A Voice on a Canvas

Do the mountains of Maine occupy a special place in your heart?

How about the mountains of Highland Plantation, at the gateway to the Bigelow Preserve and the Appalachian Trail? Have you viewed their beauty from atop Avery Peak, or marveled at their splendor as you traveled up the Long Falls Dam Road?

The Friends of the Highland Mountains has received a generous gift. One of our members, local artist Nora West, has completed a painting of the Highland mountains, as seen from the Long Falls Dam Road in Lexington Township, just south of the Highland Plantation town line. In the shadow of the mountains is the Burbank farm, and everyone who has traveled this route on their way to the Big Eddy, Cobb’s Pierce Pond Camps, the Carry Ponds, or to Flagstaff Lake and the Bigelow Preserve, will recognize this view. So, too, will the locals who call this wonderful place “home”.

Nora has donated 3 Giclee prints of this painting, which will be signed and numbered. The size of each print is the same as the original (12” x 24”) and this is a limited edition. A total of only 5 prints of this painting have been made.

The Friends of the Highland Mountains are offering these prints for a donation of $125.00 each. It is our greatest hope that this vista will be preserved for future generations, and we are working hard in our efforts to protect and preserve this unique place. This is a wonderful opportunity to memorialize this special scene captured by a local artist from the valley of Highland’s mountains.

If you would like to support our efforts and acquire one of the three prints available, please contact me by calling (207) 628-2070 or (207) 340-0066, or email me at roomtomove@tds.net. Once we have received your check or verified funds received though our Paypal account at www.highlandmts.org, we will deliver your print.

This is a rare opportunity to commemorate the “Quality of Place” that FHM is working hard to protect.

Heartfelt thanks, Nora.

And thanks to those who have supported--and continue to support--our efforts.

The Quiet Voices of Gilman Pond

I wrote the following Letter to the Editor in April of 2010. At that time, Highland Wind LLC's original project application was suspended by LURC, due to incompleteness. They submitted a revised application, reducing the number of turbines to 39, in December of 2010. HW LLC withdrew that application on May 2, 2011, with 'intent to refile' at a later date. We don't know when it will be refiled, and we don't know what aspects will change, this time. All we know is that special places such as Gilman Pond are still at risk.

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For one brief summer, I was a camp owner on Gilman Pond in Lexington Township. My husband and I purchased a ramshackle cabin with a scant 50 feet of frontage on the water. We really couldn’t afford to keep the property; it was an investment. We worked away on it nights and weekends, and our two youngest children scrabbled on the rocks with their life jackets on, feeding bread crumbs to the pickerel and skipping rocks across the gentle swell of water.

Steven and I worked hard, but we made a point of enjoying the lake-front experience, too. From the camp’s deck we watched the resident loon family… gazed in awe as papa loon caught fish and swam over to mama who carried junior on her back. Watching the family share a meal was a touching experience and listening to their mournful call was the stuff of dreams. We were also treated to an ‘up close and personal’ view of bald eagles as they fished the waters of Gilman. No matter that the iconic raptor is no longer classified an ‘endangered’… seeing such a mighty bird on the wing gave an instant high.

The view from the pond is fantastic. The mountains of Highland rise above the north end and give completeness to the notion of a pristine and quiet western Maine pond. Often, we would be treated to the sight of moose as they waded the shallow north shore, dredging the pond for succulent reeds and weeds. Seeing them framed against the backdrop of our hills perfected the image.

The camp was sold, and we made a little money from the investment. But we miss those precious stolen moments with the soothing lull of the waves lapping the shore and the best of our native wildlife just a snapshot away. Now, however, that beautiful view and that feeling of communing with nature are about to be taken away. Highland Wind LLC has submitted a permit application to erect 48 forty-story industrial wind turbines along the crest of each of Highland’s mountains.

Forget that Maine already produces more energy than we need. Forget the fact that intermittent wind power is not nearly the ‘green’ product it’s touted as being. Never mind that the turbines are manufactured in Denmark and China, and that our hard-earned subsidy dollars are supporting those nations and not ours. Disregard the economic impacts created by gigantic turbines replacing firs trees as the sentinels of our Appalachians. Ignore the fact that huge and permanent roads will replace wetlands, or that precious habitat will be fragmented. Never mind that water quality may be affected and quality of place and quality of life will be forever altered for the residents living in the vicinity of Big Wind. Forget all that.

A perfect, small pond in the shadow of Highland’s mountains… if we do nothing to stop industrial wind, we might as well forget that, too.

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Photos: Top, young bull moose in Lexington Twp.
Middle, Josie and Eli enjoying a quiet Maine pond, nine years after we sold the Gilman Pond camp
Bottom, Canada geese on Gilman Stream, the outlet to Gilman Pond

Words of Wisdom on the Wind

This "Letter to the Editor" was written in April of 2010 by Greg Perkins, a licensed soils scientist and Highland Plantation tax payer, in response to an op-ed published in the Waterville Sentinel. Greg and his wife are owners of the cabin which will be closest to the Highland Wind project, if built.
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The truth is that logging roads and skidder trails are nothing like the roads that are actually being built to haul each turbine (3 MW - nearly 390 tons of metal) to the mountaintop - or what is left of the mountaintop. These roads are not like narrow skidder trails where protective organics are left in place and no fill is required.

A road to support loaded turbine transport trucks needs to be designed and built to support at least 90 tons of weight and is typically over 50 feet wide (width of two lanes of I-95). A road system in a typical industrial wind development in the western Maine mountains may be a long as 15 -20 miles and requires hundreds of thousands of yards of aggregate material to be installed on the mountain side to conquer the 30%-50% slopes and switchbacks. Where the slopes are too steep, the mountain is blasted away.

A devastating impact created by climate change is the removal and/or destruction of the plants and animals that exist in a habitat or ecosystem, essentially destroying it. This is the very same impact generated by an industrial wind development on a fragile mountain ecosystem, only the wind development takes much less time to do its destructive work – it is immediate.

The author ends his letter by asking. “If anyone can come up with a cleaner source of power than wind, I'd like to hear it.” After thinking about all the carbon that is pumped into the atmosphere to build, transport, and site just one industrial turbine, I can come up with several cleaner sources – hydro, solar, wood, natural gas, oil…just name one.

"Put Yourself in my Shoes"-- A Voice from Highland Plantation

PUT YOURSELF IN MY SHOES
Heidi Emery, Highland Plantation

Imagine finding out a potential development in your area is being planned and when you so some research on it, the information you find is that it will make you and your children sick.

Imagine people not listening to your pleas to stop it.

Imagine that the information you found was from highly educated people who had received several degrees from Yale, Harvard, and other pretigious colleges and yet no one cares and the developers try to discredit these highly educated people for the sole purpose of protecting their own greed.

That is my reality.

I live in Highland Plantation where they (Highland Wind, LLC) plan to place 48 industrial size wind turbines on the mountains that surround the valley my family and I live in. We are in danger of becoming extremely sick.

Wind turbine developers don't want people to know about the health issues the high-intensity, low frequency noise creates. They don't want you to know because they want to continue receiving money from the federal government to build these so-called green projects. If you search the internet, you can find many stories in the U.S. and many other countries about people living with health issues caused by wind turbines. You'll also find many lawsuits taking years and years to resolve. You'll find people who have abandoned their homes with no financial gain just to escape the wind turbines they have been forced to live with.

Imagine waking up every night several times a night with the overwhelming feeling of danger, like something is wrong and your heart is pounding, you're sweating, anxious, and nervous. You are sleep deprived and have a hard time coping with things you do day to day.

Imagine feeling a pulsating, vibrating feeling in your chest, sternum, and all over your body.

Imagine feeling irritable and angry for no reason.

Imagine suffering with headaches day after day.

Imagine feeling nauseated and sick.

Imagine watching your children and spouse go through the same things. You can't concentrate anymore, your memory is bad and your children's grades are dropping and they have behavioral problems never once experienced. These are symptoms of Wind Turbine Syndrome. These symptoms can lead to more dangerous health problems over time.

There are certain people more at risk of getting these symptoms than others.

Imagine three in your family that have those risk factors, and you know that they could put those wind turbines in anyway, regardless of your family's health concerns.

This is my reality.


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Heidi at home in Highland Plantation
Heidi and father at FHM press conference in Portland, Maine

Clearing My Throat

Welcome to VOW-- Voices On the Wind.

I first became interested in the subject of mountaintop industrial wind in October of 2009, when Independence Wind, owned by former Maine governor Angus King and Rob Gardiner, former president of Maine Public Broadcasting, came to neighboring Highland Plantation with a proposal to build a large-scale industrial wind facility atop these pristine ridges.

I've learned alot between then and now, as is evidenced in some of the early letters, columns and blog postings I wrote about this development--and about Maine's wind energy plan, in general. A year and a half ago, I never dreamed that 'wind' had anything to do with corruption, or power, or lies. I once believed the sales pitch: that wind was 'green' and good, that it would 'get us off foreign oil', reduce carbon emissions, counter the effects of global warming, bring American soldiers home, and enhance national security. Yes, those are all claims which the wind industry has made-- although they don't do so much of that anymore. And that's because people who have taken the time to research this topic have discovered that those claims simply don't hold water.

We said 'Prove it!'

They can't.

So, now (at least, here in Maine) it's all about 'jobs'. The wind lobby uses our poor economy as their rallying cry.

'Look!' they say. 'We're the only game in town, right now! We've employed workers who wouldn't have had jobs, otherwise!'

Ah, but is it intelligent or fiscally responsible to subsidize temporary jobs with tax-payer money to build projects with very little value?

Nope.

On VOW, I will begin by posting some of the many letters and articles I've written over the last eighteen months. With permission from other 'wind warriors', I'll post some of theirs, too. If you are late in coming into this, I encourage you to study the issue of mountaintop industrial wind. Don't believe me. Don't believe what the wind developers and their supporters say. Believe in YOURSELF, and your ability to separate the wheat from the chaff.

The truth will blow you away.

For my first entry, I'll share a letter I wrote to Angus King in March of last year. He never responded, although I know he received it, because he told me so when I spoke with him at a LURC meeting in Bangor the following month. Writing this letter took me completely outside my 'comfort zone', as so many things have in the last year and a half. It's not always easy to stand up for what you believe in, but if everyday citizens like myself aren't willing to do that, then everyday citizens like myself can't complain when we see our rights taken away or our freedoms stomped on. I don't enjoy being involved in controversy. In fact, I hate it. Ironically, I've always been considered a 'peacemaker'.

But I am convinced this wind energy plan is a disaster-in-the-making, so a 'comfort zone' is a luxury I can't afford.

As Mainers join with other Americans--and citizens around the world--to shed some light on this high-impact, low-benefit energy plan, please feel free to be one of the Voices On the Wind. And I welcome dissenting opinions, too. This is America, and this is my blog. Both promote free speech. All I ask is that you be respectful, and try to back your words up with truth. Lies, distortions and rhetoric are partly responsible for the mess we're in. Let's work together to do things a bit differently, this time.

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March 5, 2010
Angus King
PO Box 457
Brunswick, ME 04011

Dear Mr. King,

I had the pleasure of meeting you at the LURC Commissioners’ Meeting in Bangor on Wednesday, March 3rd. If you’ll remember, I came over to you as you were sitting with Jody and introduced myself to you as your opponent in the Highland Wind LLC project. I’d like to take this opportunity to speak with you candidly, as I did on Wednesday. This letter is a personal one, and does not reflect any views of the Friends of the Highland Mountains. It is simply one woman speaking to one man.

Please allow me to give you a bit of background information about myself, so that you will see me clearly. I am a Maine native, and have never lived anywhere else. I was born in Aroostook County, the daughter of a Maine State Game Warden (retired) and a stay-at-home mother. In 1967, Dad was transferred to the Kingfield district, and I grew up in the shadow of Mt. Abram. As a child, I roamed the woods of Maine; hiking mountains such as Abraham, Sugarloaf and Borestone. I swam in Chesuncook, Caucomgomac, Seboomook, Tufts, Onawa and Greenwood. My family members were baptized in the Carrabassett River and in Wilson Stream. I hunted the western woods with Dad, and fished the rivers and glacial ponds of the north woods with Mum. I cared for orphaned creatures such as white-tail fawns, raccoons, owls and hawks. I was raised to love and care for this land and its inhabitants. As a mother for the past twenty-seven years, I’ve tried to instill that same caring and stewardship in my three children.

As I stated, I am opposed to the development of the five mountain ridges in Highland Plantation. Not only that, but I am against the industrialization of any and all of Maine’s mountain peaks. The reasons are many and multi-faceted. After months of research, after speaking with experts on wildlife, and with environmental engineers, soils scientists, sound engineers and actual Mainers living in the vicinity of industrial turbine developments, I have determined that Big Wind on the ridgelines of Maine’s peaks is a disaster in the making.

I am not opposed to harnessing the power of the wind. I am convinced that our carbon emissions are doing great harm to our environment. I believe that human beings have to take bold steps alleviate or even eradicate the crisis that is ‘global warming’. To many, the fact that I attest to those statements and yet, protest the Highland Wind LLC development makes me a NIMBY. Someone whose words are hollow when confronted with something that will inconvenience me, or affect the quality of my life. Because of sentiments such as those, the decision to openly oppose your project was a daunting one. However, I was raised to fight fairly and with integrity—but to FIGHT–when I strongly believe in something. I strongly believe these mountaintop wind turbine developments are a very poor idea for the state of Maine.

Mr. King, I could fill page upon page with the concerns that I have about these projects. They range from economic to environmental and from quality of life to quality of place. They have to do with wildlife habitat and soil erosion and water quality and quantity. Birds and bats, herbicides, wide swaths cut through pristine forests, the altering of ancient ridgelines which were shaped by Mother Nature–these are but a few of the concerns which I have. I am disturbed by the maladies associated with turbine noise and shadow flicker. I am irritated that these complexes are touted as ‘green’ when there is much to that equation that is contradictory to conventional thinking. And I am angered that my tax dollars and those of my fellow Americans–which we could well use here at home–will go to support the economies of foreign countries such as Denmark and China, where these turbines are manufactured. However, I know you’ve been reading the newspapers and online forums, so you already know what those arguments are.

In all honesty, there are many pointed questions to which you have not given forthright answers. You seem to mock or invalidate honest citizens’ very real complaints of health issues associated with wind turbines. You’ve told Highlanders that they will not hear the turbines, and yet, Rob Gardiner stated in a recorded meeting that the 500 KWHs of free electricity given to those townsfolk would be in mitigation for any sound those residents might hear. You’ve twisted phrases in order to skirt the statement made in your own application whereby 1.6 million cubic yards of earth and ledge will be dynamited or excavated, saying it will not be ‘removed’ from the mountains. In all honesty, money and/or ‘tangible’ benefits have changed hands or been promised to individuals and entities if they do not oppose these developments. Some see this practice as simply ‘doing business’. I’m not so sure that would pass the litmus test in my home or my establishment. My standard line when a child or an employee asks me if they ‘should’ do something is this: If you have to ask, the answer is ‘no’. Have you ever, just once, honestly asked yourself if these mountaintop turbine developments are the best plan for Maine?

I believe you do have a desire to contribute to a healthy environment. Your personal and political history supports my belief. But I contend that the driving force behind your efforts to erect these massive turbines in our unspoiled regions is money, pure and simple. There are billions of dollars in stimulus funds waiting to subsidize these projects, and that is an incentive that is hard to resist. But Mr. King, I ask you, please. Please reconsider your plans. We only get one shot to do this right. Forty-story turbines on the pristine peaks of Maine cannot be what is right for a state which is known world-wide for its unspoiled wilderness regions.

I am enclosing a copy of my novel, Grumble Bluff. It is a gift to you, and I hope you will find and take the opportunity to read it. It won’t take much of your valuable time, I promise; perhaps three hours, cover to cover. In Grumble Bluff, you will discover the Maine of my childhood and of my children’s childhoods. I hope my grandchildren can find that same peace and serenity which has always been an integral part of the Maine experience. Grumble Bluff is a tale in which Maine’s ‘quality of place’ is, in fact, a very tangible benefit.

Thank you for allowing me to say my piece.

For the Mountains,

Karen Bessey Pease