Fourth generation advocate of Maine’s pristine beauty

To the editor:
    Can you believe these outrageous events about the most unbelievable destruction of our precious ecosystem here in Island Falls, Maine?
    Three years ago First Wind approached the town of Oakfield about putting 34 turbines on their hills. The town was given $250,000 and the small population was offered monies individually (I have been told in some cases $2,000/year for the next 20 years). The large corporate wind entities are buying off towns and people who have little income with promises of a better future, without considering the damage this will cause to the neighboring lakes of Island Falls. I have spoken to Mike Gosselin in Mars Hill and I have seen the 25 turbines that keep him from sleeping well, and Mike has told me about the blasting that was done to put up the wind towers.   Mike Dicenso from Lincoln joined me at one of our Selectman’s meetings to share the negative impact 12 towers have had on his once pristine lake view. These are only two examples of hundreds with similar feelings.
    The 18 people in Mars Hill who were suing their town have now been silenced. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the Natural Resources Council of Maine have been bought off. On Nov. 28, the DEP will decide whether Oakfield will have not 34, but now 50 larger wind turbines.  I found out about this through the diligence of John Gates from the Citizens’ Task Force on Wind Power, he informed me that 80 percent of Mattawamkeag Lake, my great-grandfather trekked with young Theodore Roosevelt, was to have wind turbines visible from its shores. The photo simulations of the Oakfield wind project also show them visible from pristine Pleasant Lake in Island Falls.
    In 2010, the Powers Land Trust and the Lakes Association appealed the decision to have the original plan of 34 turbines installed. They lost their case, which was based on health concerns. Sweden has proven that turbines cause sleep disturbances, headaches and chronic fatigue; the arguments in this country about the non-invasiveness of turbines comes from studies done by the self-serving wind companies. The abuse and disruptions of our environment caused by the towers and turbines are an even greater tragedy for us. Not to mention what will become of our wildlife population.
    Fifteen years ago I bought my great-grandfather’s (Bill Sewall) home to keep his legacy and tradition alive. We take people on Mattawamkeag Lake to do yoga, swim and kayak. We go to Bible Point, a state site where TR read his Bible. Our website is www.sewallhouse.com and our motto is “Simplicity In A Complex World.” The wind turbine farms will make our life here very complicated.
    Candy Newman Rupley, whose father was the veterinarian in Island Falls for 60-plus years; Cheryl Sewall, fourth generation Island Falls resident and her husband Peter Connelly, have joined forces with me to write letters to those who own lake property on Mattawamkeag Lake and Pleasant Lake. We are asking anyone who wishes to support our cause to write Jessica Damon, DEP project manager, before Nov 28. Her e-mail is Jessica.Damon@Maine.gov.
Donna Davidge
Island Falls