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Taking Back the Saco River

September 19, 2007 - Fryeburg -- Yahoos beware -- your days and nights of wild, crime-filled, out-of-control partying on the Saco River could very well be numbered, if not over for good.

Why?

A state task force, brought together by a legislative resolve sponsored by State Representative Roberta Muse (R - Fryeburg) and enacted by the 123rd Legislature, is mandated to develop a recreation management plan for the Saco River, in an attempt to rein in the ongoing unruliness, with the hope of returning the popular waterway to the safe, family-friendly recreational experience it once was.

Willard R. Harris Jr., the director of the Maine Department of Conservation's Bureau of Parks and Lands, "shall gather information to facilitate the management of that portion of the Saco River between the New Hampshire border at Balch Pond and the Hiram Dam in the town of Hiram," referred to as "the Upper Saco River Recreation Corridor."

Director Harris must submit a report to the joint standing committee of the legislature having jurisdiction over public lands no later than December 15, 2007. The report must include various options for managing the Upper Saco River Recreation Corridor as a recreational waterway of statewide significance and must also include a recommendation for the creation of the Saco River Preservation Fund to fund future management of the river.

Harris said one way to help resolve some of the ongoing issues on the Socko River "may be to look to the feds."

The purpose of the "Resolve to Preserve the Saco River" is to develop a plan for a properly managing recreational use of the river and providing law enforcement, sanitation and emergency services."

A well-attended summit Monday night at the Fryeburg Fairgrounds, convened by Director Harris, began to seriously address and prioritize the major problems that face property owners, recreational users and law enforcement offices on the Saco River each summer weekend, when there are as many as 6000 people on the river.

Known as the "working group," under the legislative resolve, its essential mission is to develop a "consistent approach to managing recreational use of the river and to maintain the quality of the experience for users, as well as resolving conflicts between recreational users and owners of property adjacent to the river."

The working group of state, county and local officials, landowners, canoe and kayak livery operators, campground owners, as well as representatives of the Saco River Recreation Council, the Nature Conservancy and the Saco River Corridor Commission attended the conference on the "Resolve to Preserve the Saco River."

Under the legislative resolve, "specifically to be reviewed are approaches to address issues including, but not limited to, boating safety, law enforcement, environmental impact of recreational uses, conflicts among recreational users and the degradation of public and private property within the corridor." In addition, the resolve requires Director Harris to "seek an approach that provides for consistent management throughout the Upper Saco River Recreation Corridor," and instructs him to "work with the stakeholders to consider potential effects of various management approaches on local and regional economies."

Discussion was forthright Monday evening, with several landowners expressing their frustration over continually having their land vandalized by the cutting of trees and wanton destruction of property.

At the end of the two hour-long session, Director Harris said he, personally, had "taken five pages of notes."

"Here is my priority list," said Harris, of the major issues that need to be addressed in the Upper Saco River Recreation Corridor: 1) alcohol and/or drug abuse, 2) overuse of the river, 3) trash and human right waste, 4) lack of funding, 5) lack of enforcement abilities, 6) proper use of private property, 7) bad reputation, 8) education about proper usage, and 9) lack of funds.

Director Harris announced that the working group will meet again in a couple of weeks, after the Fryeburg Fair concludes.

"I thought Monday night's meeting was a very good start," Representative Muse said.

This article first appeared in the Bridgton News, September 13, 2007.


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