Citing constitutional restrictions, the commission spurns the governor’s idea to fund the home heating program with income from expanded logging on public lands. By Kevin Miller, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story AUGUSTA — A task force has recommended against using revenues from logging on state-owned lands to help low-income Mainers heat their homes, Read More
overharvesting
LePage Administration Pushes to Cut Funds for Home Heating Efficiency; Even as Governor Demands More Such Funds Before Releasing LMF Bond
NRCM news release On Tuesday, Governor LePage’s top energy staffer, Patrick Woodcock, led an effort to cut $7.5 million for home weatherization and heating efficiency from the Efficiency Maine’s proposed three-year budget at the same time the governor is refusing to release voter-approved Land for Maine’s Future (LMF) funds because he claims to be concerned Read More
Commission Struggles with Proposal to Divert Timber Revenues as Market Sours
Legislators are examining timber harvesting on state-owned lands and use of those logging revenues following a heated legislative debate also tied to the fate of the Land for Maine’s Future program. By Kevin Miller, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story Members of the commission reviewing the management of Maine’s state-owned lands grappled Tuesday with Read More
Commission Shows Little Appetite for Raiding Maine Public Lands Trust Fund
“No extra cash,” say Public Lands directors by Christine Parrish Free Press news story “This is not the State’s woodlot. It’s the people’s land. It’s our land. We hold it in trust for Maine people. It’s not just about the money we make.” — Will Harris, former director, Maine Public Lands The first hurdle for Read More
Heavier Logging of Maine Public Lands Focus of New Commission
by Christine Parrish Free Press news story A new commission has just been formed by the state legislature to study the impacts of a shift away from a conservation forestry focus on Maine Public Lands to the commercial timber approach it embraced in 2013 — and the possible uses of those new timber dollars. The Read More
Maine Can’t Cut More Trees from Its Public Forests on a Whim
By The BDN Editorial Board Bangor Daily News editorial As lawmakers departed Augusta last month, they left a debate unsettled about how much wood to cut from Maine’s public forests, how to use the revenue from those logging operations, and what will become of $11.5 million in voter-approved, land-protection bonds. In the coming weeks, a Read More
Increased Logging and Oversight on Maine Public Lands Passed into Law
by Christine Parrish Free Press news story In spite of increasing questions about whether Maine’s Public Lands are being treated more like commercial forests than the multiple-use forests they were established by law to be, logging targets increased from 141,000 to 160,000 cords per year when the new biennial budget was signed into law in Read More
LePage Violating State Responsibility with Public Reserved Lands Harvest Plan
By Catherine B. Johnson, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed Gov. Paul LePage threatens to increase logging on Maine’s Public Reserved Lands beyond sustainable levels and divert the revenues to unrelated purposes. But his plans run contrary to the origins, unique characteristics and purpose of these Lands. Maine has about 600,000 acres of Read More
Lawmakers Look to Block LePage’s Plan to Increase Timber Take
Since the governor took office, harvests on state-owned lands have risen by 34 percent. By Kevin Miller, Staff Writer Lawmakers are seeking to block the LePage administration’s plans to increase timber harvesting on state-owned lands and are proposing to arm forest rangers with Tasers rather than create a new type of natural resources law enforcement Read More
