PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 11, 2025
On July 26, 2016, I sent a letter objecting to the tree harvest at Jamie’s Pond Wildlife Management Area. After, I met with the commissioner for Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. He told me the logging operation would proceed. There was not the political will or public interest to stop it. It wasn’t an important issue. I was assured I did not understand forestry principles. After the logging, large swaths of the forest were left bare. These filled in with small, dense beech trees that are now dying. The logging operation left the forest in perfect condition for beech leaf disease. Given our current political climate, especially federally—without regard to the future, denial of climate change, decrease in funding for research and environmental protections—what will be next? ~ Scott Schiff-Slater, Hallowell