The Talk of Maine piece on how an announcement last February by Gov. Angus Kin

The Talk of Maine piece on how an announcement last February by Gov. Angus King that the state was suspending its effort to build a massive new cargo port on Sears Island has created an even more uncertain future for the island. The state\u27s purchase option on the island doesn\u27t expire until March 31, 1997. A coalition of environmental groups wants the pristine, 940-acre island permanently protected. Although voters approved funding for the cargo port, environmentalists found the state had illegally filled federally protected wetlands and grossly underestimated the island\u27s wetland acreage. Opposition increased, voter support for additional funding dwindled, and skepticism grew about whether another port was needed in the 200 miles between Portland and Eastport. The island might be developed if the state doesn\u27t exercise its option to buy and the island reverts back to private ownership