PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 3, 2023
The City Council’s recent rejection of a proposed conservation easement to protect Bug Light Park from development has upset local environmental groups and raised concern about the future of one of southern Maine’s most popular open spaces. The controversy has pitted some councilors against members of the city’s Conservation Commission and the independent nonprofit South Portland Land Trust, which would have held the easement on the 12-acre park overlooking Portland Harbor, Casco Bay and the pint-size lighthouse. While conservationists say the easement is the best way to prevent the park from ever being developed or sold, opponents say it’s unnecessary, short-sighted and possibly illegal.