The concern of fireworks’ negative impact on Maine’s vacation industry is real. Many folks already are talking about going to quieter areas for their vacation’s rest and relaxation. It is almost impossible to find a lake in Maine today that does not have nightly personal fireworks exploding noisily and interrupting a perfect environment for vacationers to regenerate.

Vacationers once were able to recharge their batteries by immersing themselves in the pristine wilderness of Maine. They now leave their vacations frazzled by random occurrences of fireworks during those hours normally reserved for the sounds of nature: the wind, owls, crickets and the loons. All we hear throughout the evening are intermittent bangs, booms, fizzles and bams, not exactly what made Maine famous as the Vacationland state.

The Maine Legislature was very short-sighted in legalizing fireworks, thinking it would help advance the economy. Instead, fireworks are causing the destruction of one Maine’s largest industries: the vacation industry.

All one needs to do is Google fireworks complaints in Maine to get hundreds of hits, with stories ranging from dogs run over by cars, calves killed by stampedes, police chasing complaint calls all night long and lake associations asking townships for regulation.

The state has caused this mess by approving the law and is washing their hands of it, passing the buck to all the towns and cities to regulate the use of fireworks, truly an irresponsible act of government.

How much does it cost the towns of Maine to pass laws and enforce them, and how much money will Maine lose in vacation dollars over the years? Most likely more money will be lost on vacationers and spent on township fireworks regulation than money made from fireworks’ sales tax, truly a losing situation.

John R. GibbsIpswich, Mass.