By The BDN Editorial Board Bangor Daily News editorial Maine’s Bureau of Parks and Lands is easy to take for granted. Most visitors to state parks don’t think about their management hierarchy, and few Mainers likely give much thought to timber harvesting on public lands. But the state’s parks and public lands play important economic Read More
timber harvesting
LePage Plan Could Make Forestry Top Priority in Managing Public Lands
by Mario Moretto, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story AUGUSTA, Maine — Conservationists are skeptical about Gov. Paul LePage’s budget for the natural resource departments, fearful that it would open the gates for expanded commercial harvesting of state-owned property. LePage wants to do away with the state’s Bureau of Parks and Lands, which is Read More
NRCM Testimony in Opposition to the 2016-17 Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Biennial Budget
Good afternoon Senator Hamper, Representative Rotundo, and Members of the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee, and Senator Edgecomb, Representative Hickman, and Members of the Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Committee. My name is Cathy Johnson. I am here today on behalf of the 16,000 members and supporters of the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) to Read More
Legislators Call for Review of Dept. of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
By Nakell Williams WABI-TV news story Legislators in charge of the state’s natural resources are considering a bill to review the merger that created the Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry. Representatives from several agencies who have a stake in the committee’s decision were at the public hearing and have different views about whether the Read More
NRCM Testimony in Support of LD 39: Resolve, To Require a Review of the Merger That Resulted in the Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry
Good afternoon Sen. Edgecomb, Rep. Hickman, and members of the Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Committee. My name is Eliza Donoghue. I am here today on behalf of the 16,000 members and supporters of the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) to speak in support of LD 39, a Resolve, To Require a Review of the Read More
LOGJAM – Questions Arise About Over-Cutting Timber on Maine’s Public Lands
Why Did Public Officials Promise Not To, Then Apparently Do It, Anyway? by Christine Parrish Free Press news story Last year, state conservation officials who oversee Maine’s Public Lands promised they would not increase timber harvesting on public lands until they provided legislators with the science to back it up. Instead, data from the Bureau Read More
Irving Files Plan with Land Use Commission to Rezone 51,000 Acres Around Fish River Chain
by Don Eno, Reporter St. John Valley Times news story ST. JOHN VALLEY, Maine – More than 51,000 acres of land around the Fish River Chain of Lakes in the St. John Valley could be rezoned if the Maine Land Use Planning Commission approves a plan submitted Wednesday, Dec. 24, by J.D. Irving subsidiaries – 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
LePage Energy Czar: Timber Funds Needed Now
Foes say increasing the harvest to help Mainers heat their homes is the wrong solution to a real problem. By Kevin Miller, Washington Bureau Chief Portland Press Herald news story AUGUSTA — LePage administration proposals to log more timber on state-owned woodlots to help homeowners pay for energy efficiency upgrades received mixed reviews Tuesday from lawmakers, Read More