by A.J. Higgins MPBN news story Gov. Paul LePage will submit a bill to the Legislature this week that, if approved, would pump more money into a home heating conversion fund. He would pay for it by increasing the timber harvest limits on state-owned land. But critics of the plan say that’s an improper use Read More
timber harvesting
Plan to Use State Timber Money for Energy Rebates Under Attack
WGME news story AUGUSTA (WGME) — It’s one of Maine’s largest natural resources. Trees. And Governor Paul LePage wants to use Maine’s trees to lower your energy costs. The governor wants to increase commercial logging on state-owned public land, and use the additional money to help people convert to more efficient home heating systems. Governor Read More
State Plan to Increase Timber Harvesting on Public Lands Hits Resistance
By Christopher Cousins, BDN staff Bangor Daily News news story AUGUSTA, Maine — A plan within the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to markedly increase timber harvesting limits on publicly owned lands has caused concern among environmentalists who say the increase is unsustainable. Department spokesman John Bott confirmed Monday that the department has internally Read More
Maine’s Public Forests at Risk from Increased Logging
Administration Plan Developed in Private NRCM news release Read full report. Reference documents for report. According to a new investigative report issued today by the Natural Resources Council of Maine, the LePage Administration over the past two years privately developed a plan to dramatically increase logging on Maine’s public lands without disclosing the plan to Read More
Environmental Group Says LePage ‘Green’ Order Promotes Destructive Logging
By Steve Mistler, Staff Writer Sun Journal news story AUGUSTA — A national environmental group says Gov. Paul LePage’s recent executive order expanding the standards for “green” timber required for state construction projects would lead to unsustainable wood harvesting. Last week, the governor announced the broader standards for timber used in new or expanded state Read More
Two Timber Firms Pretending To Be ‘Green,’ Groups Allege
Environmentalists Want Companies’s Lucrative Certification Revoked By Blaine Harden, Washington Post Staff Writer Washington Post news story SEATTLE — Two of the nation’s largest timber companies, Weyerhaeuser and Plum Creek Timber, have polished their public images for years by participating in a program that certifies that their logging is environmentally friendly. But in separate challenges Read More
Maine’s Big Old Trees Need to Be Saved
by Cathy Johnson, NRCM North Woods project director Bangor Daily News op-ed When people think of forests with big old trees, we usually think of the West Coast. Here in New England, trees are naturally shorter, and loggers have been cutting the forests for hundreds of years, so many people think we never had big Read More
Governor Baldacci’s Liquidation Harvesting Bill Signing Ceremony
Statement by Pete Didisheim, NRCM Advocacy Director I am very pleased to be here on behalf of the Natural Resources Council of Maine to witness the signing of the Governor’s liquidation harvesting bill. Liquidation harvesting is a pernicious practice that is eating away at Maine’s forested landscape. It happens when someone buys a wood lot, cuts Read More
