AUGUSTA, Maine - Conservationists in Maine are expressing concern about a LePage administration proposal to move oversight of public lands from the Conservation Department to the Maine Forest Service.
Gov. Paul LePage has included the plan in his two-year budget proposal. He also wants to refocus the mission of Maine's forest rangers toward forest health rather than law enforcement.
Rep. Craig Hickman, the House chair of the Legislature's Forestry Committee, says he's never been comfortable with the ongoing merger between the state agriculture and forestry departments.
"I was afraid that food would get lost, and that forestry would become the primary focus of that department," Hickman says. "With this year's budget proposal, it seems very clear to me that my fears have come to pass. To put the Bureau of Public Lands in with forestry, to me, will negatively impact tourism - it will devastate our public lands."
The Legislature's Forestry Committee will discuss the proposed changes during its afternoon meeting Tuesday.
This story will be updated.