Gov John Baldacci’s proposal to merge the departments of Agriculture, Conservation, Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and Marine Resources is in for a long battle, with the head of the influential Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine already mustering forces to block the plan.

“Maine’s 260,00 hunters and anglers are among the most prominent and influential of all demographic groups, spending more than $581 million a year on hunting and fishing,” said George Smith, SAM’s executive director, in a prepared speech for the crowd gathered at an economic summit Monday sponsored by the progressive Maine Center of Economic Policy.

“Yet, sportsmen could be contributing so much more to the state’s economy,” he said, but not if Inland Fisheries and Wildlife becomes “a backwater in a super agency.”

“It’s time to recognize the critical role this department plays in Maine’s economy and heritage, and give it the funding and modern tools it needs to serve what is now widely recognized as our state’s principal asset: our quality of place.”

While Smith’s presentation in Augusta was delayed because of Monday’s snowstorm, his message is bound to resonate given SAM’s vocal membership and the fact other affected agencies also question the wisdom of the governor’s plan.

That plan was announced in Baldacci’s State of the State address last week and calls for merging four of the state’s five natural resource agencies down to no more than two. The Department of Environmental Protection was not included in the plan because of the technical nature of the rules it enforces.

State Planning Director Martha Freeman spoke in favor of the consolidation Monday, saying that just as Maine’s farm and beach-front communities have changed, so, too, must the departments that regulate the state’s natural resources.

“We need to put aside fear, anger and grief about change,” she said, and accept a new governance structure that saves the state money.

While the hunters are expected to be vocal in their opposition, they are not the only ones opposed.

Rep. Tim Carter, D-Bethel, who is a wood harvester and farmer, asked what would happen to the leadership for agricultural issues under the merger, saying the commissioner of the Department of Agriculture has always had a farming background.

“In this reorganization, I can see this happening very seldom,” he said. “I want to know how you can assure me that agriculture in the state of Maine is not going to suffer.”

The four departments under consideration for consolidation admittedly eat up little of the state’s general fund budget – estimated at around 2 percent.

Baldacci included language in his supplemental budget to allow the consolidation to take place, booking $250,000 in savings in this biennium.

Sen. Richard Nass, R-York, questioned why the governor was going after the small stuff.

“Why isn’t this administration willing to confront the really hard cost reductions?” Nass asked. “When is this administration going to get serious?”

Freeman said that with school consolidation, merging county jails into the state prison system, consolidating natural resource departments and cutting health and human services, Baldacci has tackled the difficult issues.

“It sure feels like to me that the governor and his administration are putting forward difficult choices,” Freeman said. “I think John Baldacci has been rather radical as a Democrat.”