Big wind will do anything
Sun Journal, www.sunjournal.com 24 October 2010
This is in response to the letter by Mike Worthley (Oct. 18) and A&B Forestry regarding the closure of ATV and snowmobile trails as a consequence of passing a wind siting ordinance.
The scenario sounds familiar. From my experience in Roxbury, Big Wind will do anything to get the people’s vote. In Roxbury, free electricity, two-thirds reduction in taxes and keeping snowmobiles and ATV trails open certainly had some influence on the votes of people. It is funny how the “winds” have changed.
Now we have a landowner demanding that citizens vote against the proposed wind ordinance in Rumford or else the trails on their property will be closed.
I would like to point out that the wind industry is relying on the old military tactic of divide and conquer.
Why is the wind industry pressing so hard for its benefit and rights to the western Maine mountains? It is because the federal tax credits will be running out in 2012, so time is running out. Closing the trails is the tactic for Rumford.
The real issue is that people are being used as pawns by Big Wind, whose owners and investors will never come to live in the River Valley.
Loss of access to trails brings economic disadvantages to the towns in gas, groceries, lodging, employment and registration fees.
Landowners have closed their lands in the past, but snowmobiling continues on thousands of miles of trails. Rumford’s loss would be someone else’s gain.
Barry Allen, Roxbury
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2010/10/25/big-wind-will-do-anything/