Salmon hatchery on cutting board
11/14/08 | 16 comments

Salmon hatchery on cutting board


Battle to save Grand Lake Stream facility gearing up
By Kevin Miller
BDN Staff
BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY GABOR DEGRE
Dave Marsanskis (left), George Wharton (center) and Scott Garbiel work in the pools of the Grand Lake Stream Fish Hatchery Thursday. They stripped and fertilized eggs of landlocked salmon and were taking them to the hatchery where the eggs will incubate. The latest round of budget cuts in Maine may close the hatchery and the three employees will be laid off. The Grand Lake Stream hatchery provides about 80 percent of the landlocked salmon for the fish stocking program in the state. Buy Photo

The fish hatchery that has produced salmon for Grand Lake Stream and other top Maine fishing destinations for more than a century could be closed as part of a package of hard-hitting budget cuts under consideration by state officials.

The Grand Lake Stream Fish Hatchery dates back to the 1870s and helps support one of Maine’s most famous fisheries for landlocked salmon. But the aging and costly facility has been included on a list of proposed cuts aimed at closing what is expected to be a massive hole in the next state budget.

Other proposed reductions at the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife that are being reviewed by Gov. John Baldacci’s budget staff would cut into many programs enjoyed by sportsmen and the general public.

They include:

— Elimination of 10 game warden positions out of 124 statewide.

— Loss of at least three biologists.

— Discontinuation of tagging stations for deer and other big game.

— Elimination of DIF&W’s deputy commissioner position.

“When you cut resources and you cut funding, clearly something is going to have to give,” said Roland “Danny” Martin, DIF&W commissioner.

Every department throughout the state bureaucracy has prepared similar plans to reduce spending by 10 percent for the two-year budget cycle that begins July 1, 2009. The governor is reviewing those hypothetical cost-saving plans as well as a $150 million curtailment plan for the current budget.

“You can bet that there will be pain all throughout government,” said David Farmer, spokesman for Baldacci.

Closure of the Grand Lake Stream hatchery — located in the heart of this remote fishing village — would affect only 5 to 10 percent of DIF&W’s total hatchery operation. But the hatchery produces landlocked salmon not only for Grand Lake Stream and other Down East lakes and streams but also juvenile salmon for as far away as the Rangeley region.

Other hatcheries, such as the Enfield facility, could produce some additional salmon that then would have to be trucked to Grand Lake Stream or other water bodies, said Todd Langevin, superintendent of fish hatcheries at DIF&W.

But capacity is limited at Enfield and all of the other facilities, Langevin said. The Grand Lake Stream hatchery is also older and is in need of a wastewater treatment upgrade that would cost $250,000 to $500,000.

Langevin said he hopes many of the people who enjoy fishing for landlocked salmon at Grand Lake Stream will contact their lawmakers if the hatchery closure makes it into a budget bill. The hatchery produced roughly 47,000 landlocked salmon and more than 18,000 brook trout last year.

“From my point of view, the last thing I want to do is close the facility,” he said.

The campaign to fight the closure is gearing up already.

Dennis Labare, a retired ecologist and stream biologist who lives in Grand Lake Stream part of the year, predicted that the local landlocked salmon fishery would “essentially collapse” in the absence of stocking.

Labare has been traveling to the area since he was a boy and wrote a detailed history of the fishery in his 2007 book, “Tagewahnah: The Landlocked Salmon at Grand Lake Stream.” Labare cites in DIF&W estimates that more than 90 percent of the salmon in Grand Lake Stream, West Grand Lake and Big Lake are of hatchery origin.

“To lose that … would have an enormous ripple effect on Grand Lake Stream,” Labare said. “This would be a real dagger at the heart of that place.”

Nancy Betz, who owns and operates Grand Lake Stream Camps with her husband, Gary, said residents and business owners are very concerned about the possible closure. Many of the Betzes’ clientele return year after year because they love the fishing and the atmosphere of the town.

Take away the prized fishing and you’ve eliminated a major reason people come to this remote corner of Washington County.

“Why close something that is working?” Betz said. “The economy hurt a lot of camps this year and now something like this is too much.”

Of course, fishermen wouldn’t be the only lovers of the outdoors to feel impacts from the budget cuts. The proposed elimination of eight game wardens and two warden sergeants would further stretch an agency that struggles to meet existing demands for services.

Maj. Greg Sanborn said cuts of that size would force the Warden Service to re-evaluate its operations.

Search and rescue as well as law enforcement are critical parts of the service’s mission, Sanborn said. But people seeking help with nuisance or sick animals may have to be referred to a self-help guide rather than have a busy warden respond, he said.

“That’s a pretty substantial reduction in force,” Sanborn said. “How we absorb that is we would prioritize and some things just wouldn’t get done.”

Baldacci’s request for a 10 percent reduction in DIF&W’s total budget again is sparking debate about funding sources. That’s because less than $3 million of the department’s roughly $24 million budget comes from the state. The rest comes from revenues generated by the sales of fishing and hunting licenses, permits and registrations for things such as boats and snowmobiles.

“As I have discussed many times in the past, I want to say again that I do not believe that the calculations of this department’s targets were either correct or fair,” Martin wrote in a letter accompanying his department’s proposed budget cuts.

Martin said a true reduction of 10 percent, based on the amount of General Fund money DIF&W receives, should be $275,536 and $322,643 during the next two budget years, respectively. Instead, the department is being asked to cut $2.8 million and $3.2 million, respectively.

Farmer was unsympathetic to those arguments.

“We need to look at every agency and every department,” Farmer said. “We can’t set aside IF&W when we are cutting services for people at DHHS or for poor people or at the Department of Education.”

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Comments
16 comments on this item
On 11/14/08 at 9:10 AM, proudmainemom wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Ok why not just close all of Washington County and have it become a state park... no one wants to come here as there are no jobs.. our young people are leaving.. just give it time and we will just dry up and blow away..

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On 11/14/08 at 9:43 AM, downfleeced wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Martin is correct....for Baldacci to ax a full %10 from DIFW means that money that comes in from sporting revenue (licenses etc) is NOT going to support wildlife...but back into the general FUND...THAT IS ROBBERY!!!

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On 11/14/08 at 9:47 AM, DouglasWatts wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

If IF&W did their job correctly, there would be no need for salmon and trout hatcheries. Salmon and trout can spawn perfectly well on their own if they are given suitable habitat. IF&W has a policy of actively opposing actions that would give salmon and trout the habitat they need to spawn, ie. by opposing fishways at dams that prevent salmon and trout from reaching suitable spawning habitat. IF&W is 100 years behind the curve. They are stuck in a time warp.

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On 11/14/08 at 10:33 AM, getitdone wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

The whole executive branch of this state is stuck in a time warp. These cuts are ridiculous in a state where the only recreation there is involves land use, hunting, and fishing. Everyone who has a child in a rural area ought to be sickened by these proposed cuts!

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On 11/14/08 at 11:47 AM, CeeBlue wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

We are witnessing the passing of a way of life--

look around you - follow the money

nobody will miss us or our flyrods

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On 11/14/08 at 11:47 AM, Andrew wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Douglass, your comment about the IF&W not doing their job correctly is ridiculous! Think about how little taxes you would pay if every department at the State was only depending on the general fund for 10% of their operating expenses. IF&W has an operating budget of 24 million, 3 million (actually less than 3) from the general fund, the rest is from licenses and fees. I would say they are doing one heck of a job of not spending our tax dollars, but rather sustaining themselves on the fees of the folks using the resources. You want better trout/salmon habitat, then go purchase one of the new wildlife license plates - I did.

Closing the hatchery would put a further financial burden on IF&W, and create a new one for the folks that live in Grand Lake Stream. GLS sees hundreds, maybe thousands of visitors from out of State. They spend money in this small village, they buy food/gas/lodging/guide services/licenses and I am sure lots of other things. If the fishery dries up due to the hatchery closing, IF&W and GLS can kiss those revenue dollars bye-bye.

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On 11/14/08 at 12:28 PM, Woody1 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Ten percent of $3 million would be the ONLY fair assessment. If you're going to assess the entire amount, then you need to increase the budgets of other departments by 90 percent and base the cuts on that figure. Leave IF&W alone and find another whipping boy.

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On 11/14/08 at 12:33 PM, saltair wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

DIFW as stated above gets very little of their budget from the stares General Fund. This needs to be considered in the dollar amount the department needs to cut. This agency is one of the few that doesn't bleed this state dry. I am sure there is fat than can be trimmed and I am all for it, but there are already not enough wardens to do the job properly and now they want to cut? Those 124 men and women are all that potects Maines most valuable resource. It figures the state would take the one agency that helps generate significant income around the state, inparticular parts of the state with few other options for revenue, while using very little of the general taxpayers dollars and make drastic cuts to it. The comparisons to DHHS dont hold water. The DIFW programs are mostly self sustaining. DHHS programs, while many are important, just take and generate nothing.

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On 11/14/08 at 1:58 PM, crabman wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

If the DIF&W earns most of it's own way the cuts should be minimal. Let's cut the spending on things or pipole that don't earn their own way. It may motivate some people to find a job.

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On 11/14/08 at 1:59 PM, crabman wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

people

sorry :)

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On 11/14/08 at 3:56 PM, littlejimmy wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Another fine proposal by Baldacci and company. Landlocked Salmon, the Maine state fish, native to only four watersheds in Maine and possibly the United States. The Sebago, Green Lake, and Sebec strain have all been mixed with the St. Croix strain from West Grand Lake which is said to be the purest strain. The "intercept" hatchery started by Charles Atkins in the late 1800's is a true success story that provides great sport fisheries accross Maine today. Last election day Nov. 4, 2008 the hatchery crew once again stripped eggs and sperm from "intercepted" fish returning to spawn and released them back to the water. It is from these eggs and sperm that produce the fish that will be stocked in many of Maines Landlocked Salmon fisheries accross the state. Governor appointed, Commissioner Martin should not just be a pawn, remember who he really works for (the people of Maine), grow a back bone and stand up against this proposal. All of the fisherman from away that come to catch these unique and geographically specific fish may not come here any more, stop at L.L. Bean, the Kittery Trading Post, Van Raymond Outfitters, Eddies Flies, restraunts, hotels, sporting camps, gas stations, etc... and further threaten Maine's already economically stressed #1 industry, TOURISM!!!!!

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On 11/14/08 at 6:00 PM, MoeBolduc wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

The Samoli immigrants in Lewiston and Portland like to breed, teach them how to breed salmon instead of children and we will save money in welfare payments and other sociaL service programs . That way you get the proverbial two birds with one stone.

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On 11/14/08 at 9:00 PM, viper13 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

MoeBolduc

Yikes!

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On 11/14/08 at 9:38 PM, yankee04462 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Maybe Baldacci should read what he says in the front of the fish law book. Fishing and hunitng bring in 50 million dollars to the sate every year. Maybe if they had spent the money on these hatcheries, as this is some thing that keeps Maine a sportsmans attraction.

Cutting Game Wardens have they lost their mind, these guys are very limited and are asked to perform a vast amount of duties. Most Game Warden patrol area average 514 square miles and have been for several years limited on how many miles a year they can dirve. So we want them to protect our resources but we limited them greatly by taking their mileage away. If the truth was know most of their mileage gets burned up helping other departments and doing search and rescue. I would make change to the structure by reducing the amount of superivors in warden service. I would cut the white water rafting from their role and give that to Department of Consewrvation that has Rangers on the water ways.

Maybe if we looked at restructing the system a little and not just cutting things, we might find more long term solutions. Maybe they should put the Warden Service under the Department of Public Safety. I would move the Boilogist undert the Department of Conservation. This would allow the biologist and state foresters to interact and possibly protect deer wintering area and cutting of forest land around the feeder streams to unsure that stream temperature and clearity is not changed for fish habitate. I would have Forest Rangers due more ATV and Snowmobile enforcement allowing the Game warden to do their mandated role. I would also raise the price of out of state hunitng and fishing licenses to be more in line with other state in the nation. Raise the price for the moose permit for out of staters. I would bill lost hunter for searchs, this is becoming a normal thing across most states as the cost of these searches rises. I would raise all fines on fish and game violations make it that if the fine is paid without court hearing that the fine is paid directly in to the Warden Service budget. This would be a big money raiser as 80% of all these voilation are paided. I would make Baxter State Park pay to have the fish that are stock in it pond from their funds.

It is just a thought but why think in Maine no one listens.

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On 11/15/08 at 9:44 AM, Govt2Big wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Here's a crazy idea for our state leaders, why don't they keep-this-hatchery and start cutting from the following list of wasteful positions in state government. Sure, I realize some of these folks are friends and campaign supporters for Gov. Baldacci, but it's time for a wakeup call in Augusta.

2007 PAYROLL & BENEFITS COST | NAME | JOB TITLE

$144,026 | Lincoln, Jane | Governor's Special Assistant

$138,808 | Low, Ryan | Governor's Special Assistant

$131,180 | Walsh, Jude | Governor's Special Assistant

$116,394 | Riley, Patricia | Governor's Special Assistant

$107,879 | Cashman, John | Governor's Special Assistant

$107,494 | Mahoney, Michael | Governor's Special Assistant

$103,784 | Sklarz-Libby, Christina | Governor's Special Assistant

$102,397 | Plummer, Sue | Governor's Special Assistant

$149,919 | Black, William | Public Service Executive III

$134,456 | Bryant, Eric | Public Service Coordinator III

$113,996 | Pray, Charles | Public Service Coordinator III

$83,240 | Kerry, John | Public Service Coordinator III

$108,809 | Glidden Jr, William | Public Service Manager II

$89,216 | Delvecchio, John | Public Service Coordinator I

$79,490 | Benjamin, Stacy } Public Service Manager I

$73,939 | Brooke, Stephen | Senior Planner

$70,242 | Tavares III, Antone | Development Program Manager

$53,766 | Bradstreet, Donna | Secretary Associate

$93,790 | Smith, Rosemarie | Governor's Special Assistant

$93,761 | Ende, Patrick | Governor's Special Assistant

$88,751 | Gilbert, Mary | Governor's Special Assistant

$85,286 | Tilberg, Karin | Governor's Special Assistant

$78,137 | Cooney, Leighton | Governor's Special Assistant

$73,595 | Farmer, David | Governor's Special Assistant

$73,045 | Mullen, Lenore | Governor's Special Assistant

$72,687 | Boucher, Lance | Governor's Special Assistant

$71,137 | Black-Salomao, Karla | Governor's Special Assistant

$70,337 | Arata, Kelly | Governor's Special Assistant

Don't forget, the median HOUSEHOLD income for Maine is just $42,801 while most of these INDIVIDUAL Baldacci supporters are earning a lot more than that. For more wasteful spending, just visit: http://www.maineopengov.org

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On 11/15/08 at 1:45 PM, downeastah wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Please excuse me while I go and throw up after reading Govt2Big's posting. I knew it was bad, but this makes me sick. Does the governor really need 8 "special assistants" that make on average $119k a year??? Can you say top heavy!!! I know a few roads around that could use that million bucks. Or, how about the State police who are severely under manned? A million bucks would go a long way. And, that's just his "special assistants". Get rid of the other POS's and we could save a lot more.

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