AUGUSTA — Former Gov. John Baldacci twice tried — and twice failed — to merge the state’s natural resource agencies.

Gov. Paul LePage announced Thursday that he too would give consolidation a go, but with a new twist: He has proposed merging the Agriculture and Conservation departments into a single division.

While environmental groups immediately questioned the plan, LePage’s decision to leave two other departments out of the merger — Marine Resources and Inland Fisheries and Wildlife — enhances the plan’s chances of success.

In a statement, the administration said the effort was designed to “strengthen the natural resource economy in areas of conservation, farming and forestry.”

The merger requires legislative approval. The administration said a bill is being developed.

“Farming and forestry can be a significant part of our economic engine, and both these industries are important to Maine’s future,” LePage wrote. “These two departments are very similar and today divide funding resources from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It makes sense for these two agencies to work closer together toward economic prosperity.”

The administration did not immediately release estimated savings from the proposed merger or say whether it would lead to a staff reduction. 

“There are likely to be cost-savings in the long-term, but that is not a primary reason for this plan,” said Adrienne Bennett, a spokeswoman for LePage. “We do not have estimates on what that may look like yet. It’s likely that information will be presented during (the legislative) session.”

Cathy Johnson, senior staff attorney for the Natural Resources Council of Maine, said she wasn’t convinced the merger was a good idea “because it seems to suggest that Maine’s woods, waters and wildlife should be treated like crops and readied for market.”

She added, “The Department of Agriculture’s job is promoting agriculture. That’s very different from the Department of Conservation’s responsibilities, which include overseeing the conservation and stewardship of Maine’s state parks and public lands, natural areas and forestlands.”

Johnson said the plan appeared to be a strategy to bury the government’s mission to conserve its natural resources “deep within another bureaucracy.”

The Department of Conservation oversees the management, development and protection of some of Maine’s 17 million acres of forestland, 10.4 million acres of unorganized territory, 48 parks and historic sites and more than 590,000 acres of public-reserved and non-reserved land.

The agency includes the Maine Forest Service, the Land Use Regulation Commission and the Bureau of Parks and Lands.

The Department of Agriculture promotes farming activities while ensuring the safety and quality of the food supply. It includes the Milk Commission, the Board of Pesticide Control and the Harness Racing Commission.

Baldacci’s merger plan, which he tried in 2008 and again in 2009, included the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and the Department of Marine Resources.

The inclusion of those two departments contributed to the demise of his consolidation plan; the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, the lobster industry and conservation groups rallied to oppose it.

In a statement, Conservation Commissioner Bill Beardsley said his department and Agriculture share similar interests.

“(The two departments) are inseparable as we strive to revitalize and enhance Maine’s natural resource economy,” Beardsley said. “In addition to scale and economies, it would be great to have all of this under one roof.”

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