Wildlife or no, fur's flying over vote in Kittery (Maine)

Portland (Maine) Press Herald ^ | 16 August, 2002 | Bill Nemitz

[NewHampshireDuo]

KITTERY - Nothing moved Thursday in the late-morning heat blanketing the Town Farm Forest. No deer. No birds. No nothing.

"That's because there's nothing here," explained Sue Johnson, self-appointed savior of all things furry, during a walk up the sun-scorched footpath. Then, all but tripping over her own contradiction, she added, "I've been coming here for years and I've never seen a thing."

Which leads us to the question that will hang over Maine's southernmost community long after voters decide Tuesday whether to ban hunting for all time from this 72-acre tract nestled a hop, skip and a ricochet away from the bustling outlet malls out on Route 1: Why, if the animals are all gone, is Kittery on the verge of civil war over a referendum that would keep weapons out of the Town Farm Forest and thus make it safe for deer and other wildlife?

"Come in there with me sometime and I'll show you plenty of deer," replied Mark Sousa, a town councilor and avid hunter, later in the day. "I'll show you plenty of wildlife - period!"

Confused? Imagine trying to vote on this thing.

On the surface, next week's vote on changes to the Town Farm Ordinance will determine the future of a relatively small piece of public land criss-crossed by walking trails and surrounded on several sides by life the way it should be. But beneath this simple special election looms a cultural collision - and whatever the outcome, it's not going to be pretty.

It all started last spring when the nimrod-friendly town council rejected an attempt by the Town Farm Conservation Commission to crack down on hunting inside the forest by banning from within its boundaries every weapon known to modern man. But the council didn't stop there - by the time those deliberations ended, the old Town Farm Ordinance had a new clause requiring that "Hunting Permitted" signs be posted at the entrances to the property.

Enter Sue Johnson, a devout vegan and founder of Kittery Wildlife Friends. In June, she and her allies stood outside the polls with petitions in hand and gathered almost 900 signatures - more than enough to put the original no-hunting proposal on the ballot.

Efforts over the summer to strike a compromise went down in flames. Now, with the climactic vote only four days away, the fur is flying.

Pro-hunting forces recently planted signs inside the town's rotary proclaiming "Animals Taste Good" and "Target Practice." Nancy Bogenberger, a Kittery Wildlife Friend, countered this week that hunters are "not decent people if they kill for fun."

It's been downhill from there. Sousa implied that Johnson and the rest of the anti-hunting crowd are people from away intent on spoiling Maine's heritage. Johnson responded Thursday by producing a pile of genealogical data showing that her ancestors got their land in Kittery from none other than King George III.

Then there's this late-breaking development: By Thursday afternoon, Bogenberger had officially downgraded her assessment of hunters from "not decent" to "sadistic."

Sousa says Tuesday's vote is a lock - just like the referenda that were shot down in 1994 and 1995. (Those mentioned neither hunting nor weapons, but since they would have effectively prohibited leaving the footpaths, the hunting crowd smelled a rat.)

He also says that while a rifle shot from the back of the forest (only shotguns are permitted closer to the road) could theoretically make its way to, say, the hunting counter at the Kittery Trading Post, the heavy growth is more than enough to cut the bullet's flight short.

Johnson counters that houses and barns around the forest are pockmarked with bullet holes and it's only a matter of time before someone gets killed.

She also says that "we need to be the guardians of these creatures," controlling their numbers if necessary not with bullets, but with contraceptives.

But first we have to find them.

Sousa said the deer and other animals were laying low Thursday because of the weather - with the temperature hitting 100 degrees, they're trying to save their energy.

Johnson countered that they're long gone - with all those guns going off, they're trying to save their lives.

Here's yet another theory. Wherever they are, the residents of Town Farm Forest are in hiding - and will stay put at least until the polls close.

They're trying to save their sanity.

[NewHampshireDuo]

Then there's this late-breaking development: By Thursday afternoon, Bogenberger had officially downgraded her assessment of hunters from "not decent" to "sadistic."

At least the town council sounds sane. Hopefully the reasonable residents of Kittery will prevail and maybe the vegans will either migrate up to Portland or (skipping NH of course) head on down to the Peoples' Republic of Mass.

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