Mainers aren't sold on plans for Moosehead

By CHRIS CHURCHILL
Staff Writer

Saturday, November 05, 2005

The Plum Creek Timber Co. has yet to convince Mainers -- even in the north -- that its North Woods development plan is a good idea, according to poll results released Friday.

Forty-one percent of respondents told pollsters the development plan for the region around Moosehead Lake is a bad idea. Just 20 percent said the plan is a good idea.

Support for the Plum Creek plan is highest among Republicans, residents of northern Maine and those with annual household incomes above $75,000, the poll by Critical Insights found.

But even in those categories -- and in yet others -- the Plum Creek plan loses, according to the poll.

Supporters have cited the economic benefits the development would bring to a struggling region of the state.

But in northern Maine -- defined by the poll as Aroostook, Penobscot, Piscataquis and Somerset counties -- only 34 percent of respondents said the plan is a good idea; 36 percent said it is a bad idea
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Jim Lehner, northeast regional manager for Plum Creek, attributed the results to the novelty of the plan.

"You're not going to see tremendous support for something that's complicated and that people don't understand," Lehner said. "I think as the process continues ... we will gain support for the project."

The poll of 601 Mainers was taken in late October -- just before the Halloween vandalism spree that targeted the homes and offices of Plum Creek employees in five towns, as well as the Vaughan homestead in Hallowell.

The attacks brought widespread outrage and condemnation, and some opponents of the Plum Creek development fear vandals may have swung public support toward the company.

The attacks, which some police officials describe as terrorism, are under investigation by state police and FBI, which did not return a phone call Friday.

Plum Creek is proposing to rezone 426,000 acres of land in Somerset and Piscataquis counties.

If the Land Use Regulation Commission agrees to the rezoning, Plum Creek would develop about 10,000 acres, bringing two large resorts and about 1,000 house lots to the remote region.

The plan was submitted to the Department of Conservation in April and immediately faced strong resistance.

Some opposition was expressed during a series of public forums held last summer, and Lehner said Plum Creek is reworking its plan in response to forum complaints.

"What's important isn't today's poll," Lehner said, "but what people think as we continue to work on the plan."

While the poll released Friday showed Republicans are about evenly divided on the plan -- with 30 percent in favor and 36 percent against -- both Democrats and independents are strongly against it.

Sixteen percent of Democrats and independents said the plan is a good idea, while 43 percent of Democrats and 45 percent of independents said it is a bad idea.

Scott Bahr, a senior consultant at the Portland research firm Critical Insights, said it's unusual for independents and Democrats to align so closely on a controversial issue.

Bahr also noted a significant number of poll respondents said they had no opinion on the plan or didn't know enough about it to respond.

That was especially true in southern Maine, where 45 percent of respondents declined to express an opinion or said they were unsure.

Some environmental groups on Friday cheered the results.

"People all over the state -- men, women, Republicans, Democrats, north, south -- are concerned about this project," said Cathy Johnston of the Natural Resources Council of Maine. "Two to one, people think it's a bad idea."

The poll on the Plum Creek plan was part of a larger survey on environmental issues taken by Critical Insights. The polling has a margin of error of 3.4 percent.

The results also showed support for a North Woods National Park, with 43 percent of respondents in support and 30 percent in opposition.

"These polls reflect that people are very concerned about development and changes in the North Woods," said Jym St. Pierre, executive director of Restore: The North Woods, which has pushed for a national park in the region where Plum Creek intends to build.

"The kinds of changes presented by the Plum Creek project are scary or unacceptable to a lot of people," St. Pierre said.

Plum Creek's plan is under review by the Department of Conservation staff. It eventually will go before LURC, which serves as a planning board for unincorporated sections of Maine.

At no point is Plum Creek's proposal expected to go to a statewide vote, calling into question the importance of a statewide survey.

But Johnston said public opinion matters, because the commission will consider whether there's a need for the Plum Creek plan.

"If you have overwhelming public opinion against a project, I think it calls into question whether there's a need for it," she said.

Lehner agreed ordinary Mainers will play a role in Plum Creek's plan.

"Public opinion is very important," he said. "It drives the opinion of the Legislature and the LURC commission."

Chris Churchill -- 623-3811, Ext. 431
cchurchill@centralmaine.com

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