Portland’s westward expansion into surrounding communities has turned one-time idyllic outposts into grotesque bedroom communities. Gone are the days of self- sufficiency, land stewardship, and tight-knit communities. Our natural resources face mounting pressures caused by our inability to plan and march in sync with earth’s gifts bestowed upon us.

The competition for how we use and manage these resources causes opposing factions to pursue narrow-minded solutions without regard for the future. Ergo, the need for local government to study, legislate and regulate the use of our natural resources and society’s unavoidable impact on them.

Access to the very best information is key when planning to enhance, protect, and tap into our natural resource base. Understanding that each municipality’s geologic features, buildout, economic development opportunities, and access to natural resources is unique, thus providing the necessity to act locally while using federal and state mandates to venture toward a sustainable and prosperous future.

So, how do we tame the Wild West? By helping our local leaders:

• seek good information,

• understand and play a role in managing our natural resources,

• and give preference to community needs.

Should town leaders refuse to approach problems in a sensible and equitable manner, their motives should come into question.

At a recent Windham Town Council workshop, the charge of the Natural Resources Committee (NRC) was reviewed. A charge is a set of duties and responsibilities entrusted to a town committee. The NRC’s purpose is to serve as an advisory body to the town council on issues related to protecting and enhancing the community’s natural resource base. The NRC has been vacant for some time and when considering Windham’s growth without this important asset, I’d say we have a bit of a Wild West scenario.

Councilor Peter Busque would like to continue to disregard our natural resources aside from what federal and state agencies mandate while other communities strive to do better. Don’t be fooled by his calls for positivity or the foul smelling “winds of change” blowing in Windham. He would like to alter the NRC’s charge in the following ways to make it useless.

One of NRC’s responsibilities is to evaluate the town’s geographic information system (GIS) efforts and to explore the value and potential of GIS as a tool for protecting and enhancing Windham’s natural resource base. With regard to GIS and what Mr. Busque feels is a duplication of services, he said, “We already got that all mapped out, don’t we?” to which the town manager replied, “We do have functioning GIS now, yes.” While our town has scratched the surface of the ways GIS can be employed, there are many more to be pursued. Every town department and committee should have meaningful applications. GIS displays data in ways that can be easily comprehended lending to problem-solving and efficiency. Data can be visualized in ways that bring clarity to interconnections and trends through the use of maps, charts, and reports. GIS is never done, only added to.

Councilor Busque would like NRC to limit its activities to town-owned properties. It’s easy to say that Mr. Busque is probably motivated by being a quarry owner and developer, but does he understand that Windham’s natural resources are not limited to being on or under town-owned properties?

Though NRC’s current charge states that they would serve as an “advisory body” to the town council, Mr. Busque feels that this would be an added layer of bureaucracy. I just don’t see red tape and routine associated with an “advisory body.” That said, if federal and state mandates were adequate, why are there nitrates in Windham drinking water?

Busque suggests Windham lacks funds for NRC. In the last budget cycle the Council found $20,000 in TIF funds for the Windham Economic Development Corporation. I’d venture to say that a functioning NRC may have helped negate polluted groundwater in North Windham.

A Natural Resources Committee will work with the Council and standing committees to identify opportunities and resolve incompatible recommendations. Offering proposals to promote Windham’s economic vitality in a sustainable manner, NRC will most importantly bring legitimacy to Council activities with regard to natural resources.

Patrick Corey lives in Windham. Visit his blog at patrickcorey.com to ask questions and leave comments.