Dear Friends of Frenchman Bay, June is here around the Bay. Once again, the incredible beauty of our unique environment is displayed around every bend. The efforts to protect this unique area from the industrial scale development of a mega pier and increased cruise ship traffic, continue on many fronts. Meetings of a core group in Bar Harbor have taken place almost daily. We think it is important to remember our mission, which is, to protect the pristine beauty of Frenchman Bay and the surrounding mountains. This is an environmental issue, not a political issue! The inevitable increase in mega ship visits (huge floating cities with very bad environmental records) to our Bay will undeniably impact the ecosystem into the future, with no turning back. There are unspoken aspects of pollution regarding cruise ships (such as the non-regulation of emissions from their smoke stacks) that will be harmful to not only animal and sea life, but to we humans as well. Common sense also tells us that a 35-45 million dollar pier will necessitate more and more ships to pay back the investors. The Bar Harbor town Attorney has written publicly that "with the intention of serving the cruise ship industry, the town council instructed the Planning Board " to draft what became article #12 (the rezoning of the Ferry terminal property). We must think of ourselves as the voice of the Bay and the natural ecosystem, which has no legal representation in the modern world. The dividend of preserving nature is not calculated in money - it is calculated in the health and happiness of the human and non human residents. Here in Frenchman Bay, the beauty and health of nature is our greatest asset, and should be valued, treasured, and preserved. The Islander won't publish any political letter to the editor in June 8th edition, but this is a week for all of us to write to the Bangor Daily (letter no more than 250 words, op eds 600-700 words): http://bangordailynews.com/opinion/submit/ The video of Ross Klein speaking at COA on May 18th is now viewable on the Friends of Frenchman Bay facebook page. A beautiful full page ad with photo, called "Preserving Paradise", was published in the Islander this week. It is attached to this email- please read. The full page Letter in Support of Article 13, with hundreds of signatures, will be published in the Islander on June 8th. Also on June 8th, a half page ad, "Open Letter to Residents of Bar Harbor from Friends of Frenchman Bay" will also be published. It can be read directly below. The next meeting will be at 2 Derby Lane, Bar Harbor, 6 p.m., on Friday June 9th. Open Letter to the Residents of Bar Harbor from Friends of Frenchman Bay On June 13, the voters of Bar Harbor face an important choice- a choice that will have long term effects on the Town, the Island, and the surrounding communities. The town has the chance to take control over its own future and that of the area, or to hand the future over to the out of state economic interests of the cruise ship industry and be overwhelmed by the impact. The Entrance to Bar Harbor and Acadia. First impressions are critical. The proposed port is at the entrance to the Town and Acadia. An industrial scale pier with two 20 story ships, the associated congestion and pollution along with dozens of buses required to transport thousands of passengers, will create an immediate aversion towards the Town and the entire side of the island. With prevailing westerly winds and the contour of the island, cruise ship diesel power plants, running continuously in support of their small cities, will create a channel of exhaust directly into the Town and up Duck Brook into the Park. In addition, the large pier will fall under Homeland Security jurisdiction and require 24 hour industrial scale security and lighting. Homeland Security will not defer to any attempts at local regulation. Less visible but equally damaging, the cruise ship industry has a poor record on pollution. Existing laws allow for gray water and sewage discharge well within reach of our shores given the strong current of the large Maine tides. For all of us concerned about quality of life in the area and the pristine beauty of Acadia and Frenchman Bay, dramatically increasing cruise ship traffic and the construction of a Mega Pier makes no sense. Impact on Bar Harbor Business. Internet travel websites such as TripAdvisor already have discussions on "How to avoid Bar Harbor when the cruise ships are in town." This means a loss of high revenue tourism- people who eat three meals a day and stay in hotels, in exchange for people who are in town for a few hours and have accommodation and three meals a day already included on board. Economic studies of the impact of cruise ship tourism are notoriously biased as they are prompted by the cruise ship interests. Common sense tells us that overnight visitors to Acadia spend 10-20 times what cruise ship visitors spend. They spend the night, they eat three good meals a day. They have time to wander around town and buy sweaters and hiking boots, bug spray and sun screen, snacks and groceries, and yes, T-shirts and ice cream. Don’t let the cruise ships crowd out valuable tourism. Listen to your common sense. Effects on the Town Many area residents remember the difficult period for more than twenty years following the Bar Harbor fire, and residents are justifiably proud of the decades of hard work and tenacity that has built Bar Harbor into the attractive, economically vibrant, and livable place that it is today. Dramatic increases in cruise ship activity already threaten to destroy this. Last year there were 108 cruise ship visits and there was widespread feeling amongst both residents and visitors that cruise ship visits were stretching the town past its ability to comfortably manage the growth. This year the Town Council process has approved 171 visits, an increase of more than 60 percent. It is well known that cruise ship ports create one dimensional economic ghettos of T-shirts, ice cream and fast food. Higher end tourism avoids such places, and eventually, higher end retail and restaurants move elsewhere. This will happen to Bar Harbor with uncontrolled cruise ship growth and the construction of a Mega Pier, eroding the diverse and vibrant mix of the Town and destroying a generation of hard work and progress. Why controlled growth makes sense The lobster industry is renowned throughout the world amongst scientists and even politicians as a model of self-regulation. For generations lobstermen have created and adhered to self-imposed limits to protect and maximize the resources for future generations. This is the kind of decision faced by Bar Harbor. The short term benefits of uncontrolled cruise ship visits and a Mega Pier can be had only at the cost of long term sustainability and the erosion of the quality of life and business in the town. Placing reasonable caps on cruise ship visits is the only way to maximize the long term benefits and conserve the quality of life and business for the Town for generations to come. Who we are and why we care. Friends of Frenchman Bay is comprised of residents of neighboring towns in the surrounding area- Lamoine, Hancock, Sullivan, Sorrento, and Gouldsboro. We joined together given shared concerns about the proposed cruise ship terminal and the impact on Frenchman Bay, Acadia National Park, and the Town of Bar Harbor. As your neighbors, we visit Bar Harbor regularly, by car and by boat. We watch movies at the Reel Pizza and the Criterion, we eat in your restaurants, buy books at Sherman’s, and shop for bicycles, clothing, and artwork at your stores. We care about Bar Harbor but also recognize that the decisions made by its residents will be felt by the entire area around the bay. While many of us reside here year round, yes, some are "out of state" and come to the area for a few months or weeks in the summer. In spite of impractical cost and inconvenience, they contribute thousands of dollars per person to the local economy, simply because of a deep love for the area. The real "outside" interests involved are deeply funded cruise ship advocates. The cruise ship companies, their lobbyists and allies in the capitals of Augusta and Washington, in the law offices New York and Miami, do not care about the best long term interests of the Town of Bar Harbor or the area. We, your neighbors do. Seventy years ago a fire deeply damaged and almost destroyed Bar Harbor. Residents from surrounding towns, and from as far away as Bangor, arrived by car and boat to fight the fire and evacuate residents. While the current crisis is, thankfully, not as life threatening, many of us feel that it is the greatest threat to the town, the area, and the quality of life in generations. As in 1947, we don't think that neighbors should stand idle and silent when a town is threatened. Respectfully submitted, James Paterson, Paid for by Friends of Frenchman Bay, Renata Moise, Treasurer,