When Gov. LePage released his two-year budget proposal, I was interested in digging into the details to understand how the policy proposals will affect Maine people. I believe that his budget proposal is a starting point and it will be seriously considered by the appropriations committee and the entire Legislature over the coming weeks and months. I know that many of us in the Legislature and here at home have serious questions about the implications of the 600-plus page budget.

Among those important questions for me is the matter of Maine’s Forest Rangers. As you may know, currently Maine’s forest rangers are responsible for keeping 17 million acres of our forests safe and healthy ”“ from fighting wildfires, investigating forestry violations (including vandalism, arson, and timber theft), enforcing timber harvesting laws, and inspecting active logging operations.

In the budget proposal, Maine’s forest rangers would lose their policing and emergency response capabilities to an entirely new division of Natural Resources law enforcement officers.

Walt Whitcomb, commissioner of the Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry has said that by restructuring and shifting away from law enforcement duties, forest rangers can focus on fighting wildfires and protecting forest health. While on its face it would seem like this new division is a reasonable solution, under close examination the numbers just don’t add up.

Under this plan, there will be a loss of 22 forest ranger II jobs (including some vacant posts and 13 currently filled positions) ”“ that’s nearly two dozen fewer people who could be protecting some of Maine’s most valuable natural resources. The plan creates two forest ranger III positions and seven new Natural Resources law enforcement officers, which amounts to a net loss of professionals in the field to protect one of Maine’s most valuable natural resources. So essentially, this plan requires forest rangers and the new Natural Resource officers to do more with less, and to do so in an environment that can, at times, be dangerous.

Protecting our forestlands can be dangerous work. You may remember the case of Rorest Ranger Bill Greaves, who was unarmed and shot while assisting a sheriff’s deputy. Fortunately, Mr. Greaves survived and continued his work as a ranger, but it’s a good reminder of the dangers involved in patrolling our woods.

Under the governor’s plan, the new Natural Resources officers would be responsible for all law enforcement operations currently served by the forest rangers. These new officers would be armed, while the forest rangers would continue to patrol Maine’s forests without firearms.

In the 126th Legislature, I was a strong supporter of legislation that would have allowed forest rangers to carry firearms. They are on the frontline when it comes to protecting Maine’s forests and whether they are serving a law enforcement role or not, they can come across criminal activity while on the job and be faced with a dangerous situation with no protection. A criminal who feels threatened by someone in uniform isn’t likely to check a badge before acting recklessly.

Another concern is whether six Natural Resource officers and a supervisor can handle the volume of law enforcement demands handled currently by the forest rangers. According to some recent reports, Maine forest rangers handle about 4,000 calls per year for law violations. In 2014, they responded to 12,000 requests for service and conducted 3,500 investigations.

After consideration, it is clear that there are a lot of questions surrounding this “shift” in the responsibilities of our forest rangers. I know that we all want what is best for Maine’s woodlands and for those who serve to protect this precious natural resource. Perhaps the biggest question is whether this proposal achieves that goal.

 — Senator David Dutremble of Biddeford is a Democrat who represents Senate District 32.