Those trying to fight the town of Cumberland’s plans to install a public boat ramp on Forest Lake are battling in vain, both because their cries are perceived as NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) and their fears are unnecessary.

Forest Lake is not going to be overrun by motorboats. Those who will come – largely canoeists and kayakers – will do little to disturb this small lake community.

Forest Lake comprises 200 acres. Sixty-six homes are located on the Windham side. It is three-quarters of a mile long and about a half-mile wide. It’s been described as a frog pond and as a puddle. Most of the homes around the lake are camps that have been winterized.

As a resident of Forest Lake for about a year, I’ve been on the lake twice. On a summer weekend, there can be many boats, but most of them are small motorboats. There are several canoes, kayakers and even some recreational paddleboats. The boats are nowhere near the size of those you’d see people putting in at the Standish Boat Ramp or at Raymond Beach. It would be a strange sight to residents of the lake to see people dumping big, fancy boats into the water. To put it bluntly, they would probably think the boaters had lost their minds.

Residents and the town of Cumberland are in disagreement about whether public access should be granted on the lake. On one side of the debate are those who say the only lake in Cumberland deserves public access. They believe the town is right to spend more than $300,000 on a four-acre piece of property at the eastern end of the lake. They also believe the residents of Forest Lake have had their own, private boating haven for too long and that boating enthusiasts who live in outlying areas should have a chance.

On the other side of the debate are those who believe the boat ramp is a potential safety hazard that could have disastrous consequences. They argue that the lake is cramped as it is – so busy, in fact, that boaters have to travel around the lake counter-clockwise to make sure no one gets hurt.

In a situation such as this, where both sides have equally valid concerns, it can be hard to come to a decision that will make everyone happy. Fortunately, this decision is an easy one, because no one who is in their right mind would drop a motorboat into tiny Forest Lake when Sebago Lake, Little Sebago Lake or the ocean are about 10 miles away.

The only downside to the ramp is that immediate abutters will be affected by the boat launch. There’s no escaping that. It’s conceivable that rowdy teens and screaming children will be seen at the boat ramp. There may even be a few parties.

With the exception of those few inconveniences, however, the boat ramp will be quiet, because no one except canoeists and kayakers will bother stopping at the lake. They should be given the opportunity to enjoy this small body of water that should be accessible to everyone, not just Forest Lake residents

-John Balentine, editor