Senator Saviello, Representative Tucker, and members of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee. My name is Nick Bennett, I am the Staff Scientist for the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM), and I reside in Hallowell. I am testifying in support of LD 684 on behalf of NRCM and its 20,000 members and supporters.
NRCM believes the concept of increasing buffer size is a sound one, and the Committee should consider it carefully. I have attached a document from the Vermont Agency for Natural Resources that shows the increase in effectiveness for many buffer functions with increasing buffer size.
I hope this information will help the Committee as it consider the important issue of buffer sizes in the shoreland zone. I would be happy to take any questions.