September 30, 2019 As September comes to a close, here are a few highlights from recent stories about Maine’s environment in the news. Timber company dropping hotly contested Moosehead development plan The timberland company Weyerhaeuser is asking to terminate a massive rezoning plan for the Moosehead Lake region that was the focus of years of Read More
Plum Creek
Re-organizing the Unorganized Territories
By Edgar Allen Beem The Forescaster column Environmental groups in Maine seem pretty united in opposition to a proposal to change the way the state regulates where development may occur in Maine’s unorganized territories, that 10 million-acre half of the state where fewer than 9,000 people live and the Land Use Planning Commission is the Read More
Allowing Sprawling Development Would Hurt Towns, Wildlife, and Wilderness
Bangor Daily News editorial We give the Land Use Planning Commission, which oversees zoning and development in the state’s more than 10 million acres of unorganized territories, credit for listening to public criticism of a plan to allow more scattered development in these areas. After public hearings and comments that were overwhelmingly negative, the commission Read More
LePage’s Bond Freeze Jeopardizes the Economy of Somerset County
The Cold Stream Project, negotiated with Plum Creek, is in danger, particularly in light of the news that Weyerhaeuser is poised to buy Plum Creek. By David Trahan Kennebec Journal op-ed On Nov. 30, the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel ran an article about the resurgence of white-tailed deer in the small rural town of Read More
Plum Creek Lumber’s ‘Green’ Certification Challenged
A watchdog group files a complaint about the logging practices of one of the nation’s largest timber producers, which owns about 865,000 acres in Maine. By Jeff Barnard, The Associated Press Portland Press Herald news story GRANTS PASS, Ore. — A watchdog group is challenging the environmentally friendly “green lumber” certification for Plum Creek Timberlands, one of Read More
Conservation Plan Also Brings Development in Maine
by Amy Sinclair NECN news story The historic agreement between the Nature Conservancy and Plum Creek protects 363, 000-acres of forest land around Moosehead Lake, including 80 ponds, 800 miles of river frontage and 200 miles of lakeshore around Maine’s largest. “So folks are welcome, they have access now to go hiking, go fishing go Read More
NRCM Statement on the Announcement of the Conservation Easement on Plum Creek Land
by Lisa Pohlmann, NRCM Executive Director NRCM is always pleased to see conservation easements in Maine’s North Woods. This easement prohibits further residential development and guarantees public access forever. NRCM remains concerned about the size and location of the Plum Creek development, particularly on Lily Bay. Plum Creek’s 2,000 units around beautiful Moosehead Lake, including Read More
Groups Tout Completion of Historic 363,000-acre Plum Creek Conservation Deal
By Kevin Miller and Seth Koenig, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story PORTLAND, Maine â Calling it the “missing piece” to a 2 million-acre jigsaw puzzle, groups on Tuesday announced the completion of a 363,000-acre conservation deal that was key to Plum Creek winning regulatory approval for its historic Moosehead Lake development plan. Representatives Read More
Area Around Moosehead Should Be Preserved for All to Enjoy
The region’s primitive beauty deserves protection similar to that given Mount Katahdin. By John Radebaugh Portland Press Herald op-ed I was shocked that the Plum Creek proposal received approval from the Maine Judicial Court on March 15 to develop the Moosehead Lake area, allowing 821 house lots and more than l,200 housing units in the Big Read More
