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SAVE MOOSEHEAD
SAVE MOOSEHEAD RALLY
PORTLAND, MAINE
July 10, 2007
Jym St. Pierre speaks at Save Moosehead Rally,
Portland, ME, July 10, 2007
Photo by Eric Spalding
STATEMENT
CONCERNING PLUM CREEK’S REVISED
MOOSEHEAD LAKE REGION PLAN
BY JYM ST. PIERRE, MAINE DIRECTOR,
RESTORE: THE NORTH WOODS
There has been an outpouring of public concern in recent
years in Maine about our forests. Misplaced development, unsustainable
forest practices, and unstable ownerships threaten the ecological integrity,
traditional recreational access, economic viability, and scenic beauty
of Maine's North Woods.
In April 2005, Plum Creek corporation submitted a proposal for the largest
real estate development in Maine history. It included 975 subdivision
lots, a 3,000-acre destination resort at Brassua Lake, a 500-acre resort
at Lily Bay on Moosehead Lake, and other developments. After more than
1,000 Mainers turned out at public meetings to voice their concerns about
the ramifications of such sprawling development, Plum Creek said they
listened and would rework their proposal.
In April 2006, Plum Creek presented a revised plan. It still included
nearly 60 subdivisions with 975 subdivision lots, two resorts, and
associated development. Plum Creek’s Moosehead plan 2.0 raised even
more concerns than the first version.
In April 2007, Plum Creek offered plan 3.0. Some of the development has
been moved around. However, the plan still presents a lot of problems.
Plum Creek’s newest plan includes just as many subdivision lots,
just as many resorts, more residential units in total, and twice as many
acres of development zones as before.
Plum Creek’s plan still represents the largest real estate development
in Maine history. Plum Creek’s plan still represents a wholesale
change in the wild character of the Moosehead region. Plum Creek’s
plan is still the wrong kind and amount of development in the wrong place.
Plum Creek’s 2007 Moosehead development plan:
- doubles the proposed development zones to 22,500
acres; that is bigger than the city of Portland
- increases residential units to more than 2,300, including
at least 1000 subdivision lots
- expands 2 major resorts to 5,300 acres
- adds 2 remote resort zones
- includes 5 commercial development zones
What is wrong with this? Plum Creek’s plan still includes hundreds
of misplaced subdivision lots scattered across the landscape. While there
is a need for more tourist facilities in the Moosehead area, the proposed
resort and subdivision lots at Lilly Bay, across from a popular state
park, is the wrong place for development. A resort at Big Moose Mountain
could be a valuable tourist destination. However, the details about Plum
Creek’s plan for development there are extremely vague and sacrificing
pristine Burnham Pond is just plain wrong.
In the heart of the Maine Woods, we need better conservation actions to
hold habitats together, not wildlands sprawl that fragments the homes
of our native wildlife with invasive houses, roads and powerlines. We
need sustainable development phased into gateway communities to support
local jobs for the long term, not the boom-bust business of constructing
trophy second homes in the outback, which will hurt our growing eco-tourism
businesses. We need to nurture an economy that brings solid prosperity,
not a skewed economy where a few people make a bundle and the local towns
get little more than solid waste from suburbanites heading home. Even
Plum Creek’s proposed “conservation easements” are mainly
about locking in industrial forestry.
We still need meaningful, large-scale conservation in the Moosehead region.
But Plum Creek’s Moosehead plan is about development. It is not
a plan to provide permanently protected wildlands.
It is time to seriously evaluate our Maine Woods options, including the
proposed Maine Woods National Park and Preserve, and to act on a grand
scale befitting the grandeur of our wildlands. The Moosehead region is
unquestionably of national significance. The threats it faces are of national
concern. It will take national action to preserve the pubic interest at
risk. But it must start here. The citizens of Maine must tell the Land
Use Regulation Commission to say no to Plum Creek.
RESTORE: The North Woods
9 Union Street • Hallowell • Maine 04347 • 207-626-5635
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Return to the Plum Creek Watch page
of our website
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