Morning Sentinel letter-to-the-editor
A recent report from the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) has revealed that Plum Creek systematically harvested timber and destroyed Deer Wintering Areas (DWAs) in the Moosehead Lake region. The damage will take decades to repair and the deer population will be drastically reduced as a result. When these abuses were revealed, Plum Creek paid the largest civil penalties for abusive forestry practices in Maine history and quickly set out on a “PR” campaign to convince Mainers that now, Plum Creek really had Maine’s wildlife and people in their best interest “this time.” To further pull the wool over our eyes, Plum Creek entered into an agreement to protect these areas with much pomp and circumstance. The sad fact of the matter is, they told us they were doing that already, before they liquidated the DWAs. It is pretty clear at this point that Plum Creek has been misleading Maine sportsmen and using Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine (SAM) as a “PR” tool since their arrival in Maine. Since Plum Creek’s philosophy and actions are so contrary to SAM’s strategic plan and mission, SAM should cease all support for Plum Creek, from this point forward, until Plum Creek’s actions and not its ad campaigns, donations and junkets for SAM staff speak about their true intentions.
Jeff Levesque
SAM Member
Greene
