What some outdoor enthusiasts had hoped would be a movement to unite and bring the focus of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine back into more of a mainstream effort to better encompass all Maine sportsmen, appears to need some restoration of its own.
Where has RESTORE-SAM gone? What have they done? Is this just another flash in the pan? Another dead website along with the other millions that exist on the Internet today?
When RESTORE-SAM announced its birth to the Maine world, there was immediate controversy because the founders wanted to remain anonymous stating that they wanted the focus of Maine outdoorsmen to be on issues not on who’s behind the movement. They even went so far as to find a hosting service that would host their website incognito.
For an effort that was deemed to be one of unification, it seemed to have more of an impact of further dividing but not necessarily among the sportsmen about sporting issues but whether support would be given to someone not willing to expose themselves.
The rumors flew untethered. Some thought RESTORE-SAM was started by the SAM leader, George Smith. Others believed it must be from somewhere inside SAM. With the rift going on between many in the Maine Ice Anglers Association and members of the Maine fly fishing community, i.e. Trout Unlimited, Dud Dean Anglers Society, etc., it was only assumed that it must have been a group from either one of these sides sponsoring the effort.
At one point I received a phone call from the Maine Public Broadcasting Network asking me if I was RESTORE-SAM. I do believe MPBN’s interest in the subject faded rapidly when they discovered there was no personal identity behind RS. The point being that nobody knew and to my knowledge few if any, know today, who is actually behind RS and they have done nothing that would remotely make anyone believe help is on the way.
The RESTORE-SAM website was launched and for a short time, they opted to use the stage at the New England Outdoor Voice, a website and message board owned and operated by Butch Moore. The NEOV seemed to be home for many of the Maine Ice Anglers Association, so once again it was believed that someone there must be running RS.
Communication after the initial announcement was poor at best and I voiced real concerns about whether or not the speed in which they were moving and the lack of communication was going to be enough to sustain any kind of bona fide effort. I made several suggestion of ways they could improve their efforts. I guess they fell on deaf ears.
Around April 6, 2007 is when RESTORE-SAM made its announcement and it took over two weeks for them to make their next move. On the 23rd, they updated their website seeking input from anyone interested about SAM’s efforts in persisting to get a Sunday hunting bill passed. I submitted my response. Did you?
It has now been another 6 weeks and nothing is new. No communication, no announcements, no new questions. At their website, they promised, “issues will be added as we progress”. I can only assume that there has been no progression. As a matter of fact, there has been virtually no discussion anywhere that I have been aware of. Perhaps no one responded except for me.
If it is the intention of RESTORE-SAM to unite and return SAM to what it calls its “Maine roots”, they have done little in that regard. They state on their home page the reasons for starting RS.
RESTORE SAM is a grassroots organization started this winter because of what Mr. Smith and Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine has done in the Legislature. We feel that SAM’s current legislative agenda has taken a decided turn away from its Maine roots and has turned the group away from the traditional Maine outdoors person.
Now that the current legislative session is winding down and the sometimes heated debates surrounding some key bill proposals is waning, RESTORE-SAM has sunk into the background and has nobody’s attention, let alone mine I guess.
If it wasn’t the quiet time of the year for me with hunting issues, I doubt that I would any longer give mention to this effort. I have waited quietly hoping for some kind of movement, maybe even an email or two with progress reports or acknowledgments but so far nothing.
RESTORE-SAM! If you are still alive and well, don’t you think it’s time to send up a smoke signal? There may even be a life jacket or two that can be tossed your way.
Tom Remington
