Proposed bypass would destroy farm, future

To the editor:
    I own a fourth-generation, 160-acre farm on Route 10 in Presque Isle. The PI bypass preferred routes 2X and 6 will bisect my farm and severely threaten my future ability to make a living.     I am an 80 percent disabled Viet Nam vet and this farm is all I have. I rent most of it to commercial farmers and I grow organic vegetables on the portion that the proposed construction would destroy. It takes three years to get land certified organic. I have a lot of permaculture I have been working on for years to establish … asparagus, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries … all would be torn up by this bypass. My current leasee told me if the bypass cuts my farm in half, it would be un-rentable. That’s lost income forever.
    These proposed routes will impact my life very much. I would be happy to give the state 300 feet off either end of my farm … well I wouldn’t be happy but I would do it.
    I know the state is concerned about protecting wetlands but how about prime farmland? My property includes substantial amounts of soil designated CgB and GgC2 which are pretty much cream of the crop.
    And what about historic buildings? The state needs to know that my home is a former Bangor & Aroostook Railroad station build in the 1800s and moved to our farm in the 1950s. People still come to look at it because it is constructed very differently than modern buildings. Although it is not included on a National Registry, it should be considered an historic structure.
    Is the state interested in preserving wildlife habitat? My farm is a natural crossing route for deer, moose and other wildlife — common knowledge in the area and the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife staff can verify the fact. Also, my farm and abutting farms include a significant  amount of wetlands. Has the state done any biological studies on the impact a bypass would make on this fragile ecosystem?
    I have repeatedly tried to communicate directly with state officials but to no avail. I need someone in a position of responsibility to tell me why the state is going to ruin my life.
    This farm is my home and primary source of income and the state refuses to talk to me face-to-face even though each proposal would divide my farm in two and deprive me of both income and property value. To my way of thinking, that’s bad politics.