Plum Creek News & Updates

Plum Creek submits revised plan for Moosehead development

By Clarke Canfield, Associated Press Writer | April 27, 2007

PORTLAND, Maine --Plum Creek Timber Co. submitted a revised plan Friday for its proposed development in the Moosehead Lake region that calls for fewer waterfront lots but increases the amount of land over which the project will be developed.

The plan, submitted to the Land Use Regulation Commission, is the second revision Plum Creek has made since it first proposed the massive development more than two years ago.

The revised plan still includes 975 house lots and two resorts. But the revisions reduce shorefront development on Moosehead Lake and nearby ponds and lakes by 40 percent, said Luke Muzzy, Plum Creek's senior land asset manager.

The plan will likely meet some opposition, Muzzy said, but should also ease concerns.

"We're not going to make everybody happy, on both sides," he said. "I hear all the time from some people saying there shouldn't be anything up here, and other people saying we should be able to do more development down the road."

Jym St. Pierre, Maine director of RESTORE: The North Woods, said the plan doubles the amount of land over which the project will be developed, from about 10,000 acres to more than 20,000. It also proposes to increase from 500 to 800 the number of housing units -- houses, condominiums or hotel rooms -- allowable at the project's Big Moose Mountain resort.

While the plan contains improvements over the previous one, it's still too massive and out of scale for the region, he said.

"What they're saying is, 'We've made improvements so you should be happy,'" St. Pierre said. "If you're hitting your head against the wall 100 times and then hitting your head against the wall only 80 times, I guess that's an improvement."

From the start, the plan has drawn opposition from environmental groups that say the development is inappropriate for the largest undeveloped tract east of the Mississippi River. The plan is the largest subdivision ever proposed in Maine and would be located in the North Woods made famous by Henry David Thoreau
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Cathy Johnson, North Woods project manager for the Natural Resources Council of Maine, said the new plan has some positive elements, such as moving some lots closer to the populated area of Greenville and dropping plans to develop house lots on a number of lakes and ponds.

However, she is still troubled by Plum Creek's intention to develop a resort on Moosehead Lake's Lily Bay and house lots on the shores of Long Pond, 15 miles to the west.

"Our overall goal is to make sure the beauty and character of the spectacular Moosehead Lake region are not destroyed by Plum Creek's proposed development," Johnson said.

The new plan will be reviewed by LURC, which oversees development of the state's 10.4 million acres of unorganized territories. The first possible date for the start of public hearings is Oct. 29, according to LURC.

Regarding land conservation, Plum Creek is proposing to increase the amount of land it puts into conservation from 70,000 and 90,000 acres once the plan is approved, Muzzy said. It also plans to sell conservation easements and land totaling 341,000 acres to The Nature Conservancy.

If approved, it would be the second-largest conservation easement in U.S. history, Plum Creek said.

© Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company