According to BBC News, somebody has done a survey and determined that Mother Earth boasts over 3 trillion trees, 490 billion in the Amazon alone. They claim it is the largest survey of trees ever taken. The odds are pretty good that the survey crews have come up with a fair estimate and most of us probably won’t try to dispute the figures.

While many countries do precious little to protect their trees, the United States has taken the job very seriously for the past decade or two. We’ve stopped massive clear-cutting of our forests and even go all-out to protect individual trees along a particular stretch of roadway or piece of land.

Likewise, new parking lots, malls and other commercial developments now make sure that the project preserves existing trees whenever possible, and budgets for new plantings.

We think our dedication to the preservation of trees is important, but we’d like to express our disappointment that in our love affair with trees, we’re often ignoring something else: Protecting some of the wonderful views that we’ve enjoyed for many years.

Most of us know of spots where we could once see a pond, lake, river or the ocean, but no longer can because of tree growth. Right here on the peninsula, we hear people comment on occasion about wonderful views that have disappeared, like the one from  Ocean View Cemetery across from the golf course, which once looked out over Boothbay Harbor.  

Unfortunately, there was precious little we could have done to preserve that view because of the hundreds of trees involved. We haven’t been Down East for several years, but they have some incredible vistas that we hope will always be there. But, realistically, we accept the fact that those views probably won’t be there, as the trees grow taller and taller.

Quite often, when we’re on Route 1 and pass by the northbound exit ramp leading to Newcastle and Damariscotta, we comment on how sad it will be when you no longer can see the lovely village from the highway. It will be a real loss to the motoring public.

Obviously, it’s not always tree growth that obliterates a view. Closer to home, whenever we look across Mill Pond and out over Linekin Bay from Route 96 in East Boothbay village, we’re reminded that this popular view could disappear at any time, when the house on the narrow strip of land is sold, and if the new owner decides to enlarge it by the legal 35 percent. We have hoped for several years, but to no avail, that a buyer/organization would come along and purchase it to preserve this view, but we’re not going to hold our breath.

The land trust’s acquisition of the plot close to the road was initially to prohibit the construction of a possible business enterprise which would have blocked the view out over Linekin Bay. View is important to lots of folks.

Remember the comments when a new home was built on Mill Cove that blocked the harbor view for several homes, or a landowner built a berm for privacy along Route 96 in Linekin, which also removed the water view for motorists? Nothing illegal about these and other similar moves; if you don’t own it, you have very little recourse.

When we travel up River Road from Boothbay to Newcastle, we often wonder how nice it might had been if the road had hugged the river. The term River Road is kind of humorous, when you think about it. It may follow the river, but you’d never know it. Most homeowners want to be directly on the water rather than across the road, and thus many of the state’s water views are blocked by homes or businesses.

That’s probably one of the reasons Ocean Point is so special to all of us. There’s virtually little between Shore Road and the great Atlantic Ocean to block your view. It’s too bad we can’t say thank you to those who laid out the road centuries ago and tell them how many thousands of pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and others have enjoyed their wisdom (or, perhaps, accidental choice) in a travel path.

Lots of individual waterfront homeowners have found themselves in deep trouble when they tried to cut trees on their property to enhance their view. There are very strict rules about cutting trees. We understand the dangers of erosion and know that trees keep us alive, but sometimes the regulations go a bit too far.

Thousands of folks come to Maine each year because of its incredible beauty. While we know it’s not solely for the views, we’re convinced they play a key role in bringing visitors back year after year. And those of us who live here year-round also have very special spots which are near and dear to our hearts. While we can’t always control the loss of scenic vistas, we can at least be aware that whenever it makes good sense to preserve them for future generations, we should do our part to make it happen.