MAINE PUBLIC • March 19, 2025
Lawmakers on the Environment and Natural Resources Committee have voted 10-2 against supporting a measure to conserve Sears Island entirely. The bill, from Rep. Reagan Paul, R-Winterport, would extend a conservation easement that covers three quarters of the state-owned island onto the remaining parcel, set aside for commercial development under a 2009 agreement. But a majority of lawmakers said the bill would eliminate any future possibility for the state to build a port or other industrial facility on the island in Searsport. Plans to develop a port at Sears Island have been proposed for decades, prompting fierce contest to preserve the land. Many advocates told legislators during a public hearing that they were in favor of renewable energy but preferred the state focus on building a port at the nearby Mack Point terminal.