Gov. Paul LePage wants to harvest more timber on state-owned land to pay for a home heating assistance program, but he has angered others by linking the issue to the Land for Maine’s Future program. By Kevin Miller, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story AUGUSTA — Attorney General Janet Mills said a LePage administration Read More
Public Reserved Lands
Maine has approximately 600,000 acres of Public Reserved Lands in more than 30 separate parcels located across Maine. These lands are enjoyed for their outstanding hiking, camping, birding, fishing, and hunting opportunities. They include the Bigelow Preserve, Kennebec Highlands, Tumbledown, Cutler’s Bold Coast, Donnell Pond, and more. Maine’s Public Reserved Lands are managed by the Bureau of Parks and Lands (BPL) for multiple uses, including wildlife habitat, outdoor recreation, and sustainable timber harvesting. For the past 40 years, BPL has harvested timber from these forests in a sustainable, even exemplary manner, improving both the quality and the quantity of timber on those lands.
Attorney General: LePage Probably Can’t Use Timber Harvest Profits to Pay for Heating Assistance
by A.J. Higgins MPBN news story AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine Attorney General Janet Mills is casting doubt on plans by Gov. Paul LePage to use revenues from timber harvesting on public lands to pay for heating assistance for the poor. Citing past court opinions and restrictions in the Maine Constitution, Mills says the governor’s plan Read More
Maine People Tell Governor: You’re Wrong!
By George Smith Bangor Daily News column It is time for the Governor to realize he isn’t going to get his wish of diverting funding away from Maine’s public lands, and do the right thing: release those Land for Maine’s Future Bonds. Maine people strongly agree on this, and an opinion issued yesterday by Janet Read More
A Summer Adventure on Maine’s Public Reserved Lands
You could spend both ends of your vacation driving or flying to beautiful spots all over the country or the world. Or you could use those travel days to fit in yet more adventures on Maine’s Public Reserved Lands. These lands belong to us. They are must-see destinations for adventurers from Maine and travelers from all over the Read More
My Walkabout at Dodge Point
Dodge Point Public Reserved Land is a 520-acre property located on the Damariscotta River in Newcastle, just a few miles south on the River Road from downtown Damariscotta. Previously an award-winning tree farm, the property was purchased by the State in 1989, with funds from Land for Maine’s Future bonds, and the Damariscotta River Association Read More
Natural Resources Council of Maine to Present Awards to Portland, Phippsburg, Liberty, Bethel Conservation Leaders
NRCM News Release Augusta, ME – Maine’s leading nonprofit membership organization working to protect Maine’s land, air, water, and wildlife, has named its 2015 Conservation Leadership Award winners. The Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) presents the awards each year to individuals or groups that have made an extraordinary contribution to the protection of Maine’s Read More
Public Lands About Much More Than Cutting Trees
By Jenn Burns Gray, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed Over the past few months, the revenue generated from the timber harvest on Maine’s public lands has been in the spotlight. The Bangor Daily News published an editorial Sept. 25 that highlights the numerous problems with Gov. Paul LePage’s plan to increase timber Read More
Reason, Science and the Law: Where LePage’s Public Forest Plans Fall Short
By The BDN Editorial Board Bangor Daily News editorial Gov. Paul LePage says he’s giving up on the Legislature, but there’s no indication he’s backing down from his effort to cut more wood from the state’s public lands and set aside the revenue so rural, low-income households can afford to upgrade to lower cost heating Read More
No Need to Cut Public Forests to Achieve LePage’s Heating Goal
By Ralph Chapman, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed Gov. Paul LePage’s proposal to aid “fellow Mainers who are most in need” with home heating assistance deserves further consideration, as it is a worthy goal. Most of the attention to his plan has focused on problems with his proposed source of funding (increased Read More
