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Ron Greco is a Registered Maine Guide, owner of the Maine River Lodge in Wytopitlock and the executive director of Moose Maine Kids and Moose Maine Kids Dream Adventures.
The Bangor Daily News recently reported that Donald Trump Jr. and a group of his partners purchased a large chunk of hunting land in northern Maine. Though I believe the reporting was strictly factual, some commenters saw this as a negative for Maine. I disagree.
This property was bought after Don Jr. was on a successful moose hunt in Maine a couple years back. I believe this purchase is a testament to the quality and value of Maine land for hunting. It makes me happy that Don Jr. and his friends saw Maine fit for such an investment.
Maine has several problems when competing for hunters from away, as well as many attributes that draw hunters here. A chief problem I see is the lack of Sunday hunting, the second largest problem is marketing. While Don Jr’s purchase hasn’t done anything for Sunday hunting yet, it is an immediate boon to our collective national marketing efforts.
For a large segment of the country and the vast majority of hunters nationwide, Don Jr. is the ultimate hunting celebrity. He travels to the best places on earth to hunt and chases the most prized game. That means something to the middle-class hunter who has the disposable income to go on one hunt a year. It means that they may see Don Jr.’s pictures and posts and decide on coming to Maine for a bear hunt, applying for our moose lottery or, for the more well-to-do hunter, purchasing a lodge tag that helps keep Maine sporting camps in business.
Don Jr. and I apparently agree that Maine is the way that life should be. The hunting industry in Maine does not have the privilege of being picky about who draws attention to Maine’s opportunities. Though from the guides that I have spoken to, they are all ecstatic that Don Jr. will be spending more time here.
I know there are a lot of big emotions from both sides of the aisle after this election, please set those aside and focus on the positive light that this shines on Maine as a whole. Don Jr. and company could buy land wherever in the world they want, but they chose Maine. That’s a compliment!
For Don. Jr’s political detractors, understand that you are losing rural America more and more each election cycle. Rural Mainers likely feel seen by this purchase. They feel like finally someone sees their home like they see it, worthy of time and money.
They feel an emptiness when they look at how much attention and accolades southern Maine gets, like Portland is the younger sibling getting all of mom and dad’s attention while they shlep off to work to help put food on the table. I believe northern Maine has always been, and always will be, the beating heart of our state. The folks who live there are the lifeblood that keeps us afloat. Do not blame them for being happy that Don Jr. is showing them positive attention. No, show them some of that same positive attention as well.
I will end what is probably an overly positive column with a word of caution for the buyers. We see people from away, even from other countries, come in here and close land off. They put up posted signs, gates and remove culverts. These people often do not even live on the land they own, yet they would strip families from their generational hunting grounds. They are often callous, unneighborly and uncaring of our traditional way of life.
I don’t expect Don Jr. and his partners to take this route, though I would understand if they wanted to control some access to their land. I hope that they at least make parts of it available for folks to deer hunt on. And hey, Moose Maine Kids would love to manage a few bear sites for the kids in our program!
