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Mission Statement:
“The Moosehead Region Futures Committee’s mission is to encourage, gather and incorporate area residents’ ideas and expertise to shape and balance the region’s future development, economy, and conservation efforts.”
In June of 2005, Plum Creek Timber’s proposal to rezone over 400,000 acres of lands in the Moosehead Region brought together a group of volunteers concerned about the need to increase citizen participation in creating a future for the Moosehead Region and its high value resources.
The MRFC is funded by donations (large and small) given by area residents and area supporters. The MRFC is not a membership organization and is not affiliated with other organizations, LURC permit applicants or real estate companies. It is an information service as well as an area-wide conversation about the region’s future as it faces significant development proposals that offer both opportunity and risk for the region.
Since June of 2005 the MRFC has:
Recognized the need for a greater public voice in planning for development and conservation in the Moosehead region.
Organized information meetings in Beaver Cove, Greenville, and Rockwood, collecting residents' ideas about values and planning. Attended camp owner and road association meetings in all affected project areas (from Roach Pond to Moosehead to Brassua Lake) as well as all four Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC) scoping sessions held to hear residents’ concerns about Plum Creek’s proposal.
Created a citizen database of residents and businesses, assisting them with access to the LURC public process; opened an office in Greenville.
Been recognized with grant awards by the North East State Foresters Association, the Northern Forest Center, the New England Grassroots Environment Fund, the Quimby Family Foundation: organizations that support local efforts to link rural economies and careful management of natural resources. Received local donations, both large and small, that have advanced our work.
Used public feedback from area meetings and LURC scoping sessions to create Citizen Solutions: planning guidelines and a map designed to point landowners, developers, and state decision makers to solutions that will support the area's North Woods character and a strong, diverse local economy. Several suggestions from Citizen Solutions were incorporated into the April 2006 revision of Plum Creek’s proposal. These include: relocation of a proposed resort to Big Moose Mountain, provision for affordable housing, and establishment of a Community Fund (for education and recreation) based on contributions from the sale prices of house lots.
Held meetings with Plum Creek to work on plan revisions that would better secure the region's future.
Organized a stakeholder meeting of area outdoor businesses and clubs to map the region's valuable woods, waters, and wildlife habitat. One of Plum Creek’s attorneys participated in the meeting and gathered preliminary maps to share with Plum Creek’s planners. This meeting marked the start of the Moosehead Mapping Collaborative: a joint effort of the MRFC, the Appalachian Mountain Club, the Natural Resource Education Center, and the Center for Community Geographic Information Systems to create area maps of high value nature tourism resources.
Met with LURC staff and consultants several times.
Submitted to LURC a detailed analysis of the April 2006 revision of Plum Creek's proposal, based on the guidelines in Citizen Solutions. This analysis noted strengths and weaknesses of the proposal, asked for further research on numerous issues, and suggested specific changes that would protect natural resources and support a strong, diverse local economy. Some of these suggestions were incorporated into the April 2007 version of Plum Creek’s proposal. For example, proposed development was eliminated from certain locations judged as inappropriate (Prong Pond, Big W Township, and the northwest of Brassua Lake).
Been granted full intervenor status for the LURC hearings on the April 2007 version of Plum Creek's proposal, which will be held in December 2007 and January 2008. In preparation for these hearings, Steering Committee members have submitted pre-filed testimony presenting an in-depth analysis of Plum Creek’s proposal as viewed through the lens of Citizen Solutions.
The Steering Committee:
The MRFC’s work is directed by a diverse group of residents who support a public process to review and revise development proposals that will affect the future of the Moosehead region. Steering Committee members include residents with experience owning and running sporting camps and outfitting businesses, developers, a journalist, a logger, doctors, and seasonal homeowners. Members live throughout Plum Creek’s project area, on the east and west sides of Moosehead Lake, in both organized towns and Unorganized Territory.
Steering Committee Members:
Suzanne AuClair is an experienced journalist, editor, and award-winning outdoor columnist. An eighth-generation Mainer, she is actively committed to economic planning that places high value on maintaining the distinction of Maine regions. She has participated in many business planning efforts, including the direction, organization and management of Moosehead Lake’s International Seaplane Fly-In. She is a former trustee of the Natural Resource Education Center and past vice president of the Rockwood Fire and Rescue Dept. Board of Directors. Suzanne lives in the Unorganized Territory, near Rockwood village.
George Bakajza lives with his wife and two children on the west shore of Moosehead Lake in the Unorganized Township of Sandbar Tract. George came to the Moosehead region in 1982 to work as the Piscataquis and Somerset County District Conservationist for the USDA Soil Conservation Service. In 1989 he started an environmental consulting business offering services such as soil and wetland mapping, septic system design, environmental permitting and land management. In 1999 he also became the Land Steward for Sweet Water Trust's 12,000 acre Alder Stream Preserve in Piscataquis and Penobscot Counties. George is a Maine Certified Soil Scientist and Site Evaluator as well as a nationally certified Soil Scientist and Agronomist.
Jim Glavine, President, is a Beaver Cove resident and owns an art and antiques internet business. After spending many childhood years in the region, Jim returned to Moosehead as the owner of Beaver Cove Camps, which he ran for 10 years. One of the co-founders of the Friends of Moosehead, Jim was part of creating a region-wide perspective on what should be the region's conservation land base. He serves on the board of the Natural Resources Council of Maine and is active in the National Wildlife Federation.
Bob Guethlen lives on the northern shore of Moosehead Lake in Tomhegan Township, Somerset County. He and his wife are retired but active in regional land use issues, including participation in the Friends of Moosehead. They are both Registered Maine Guides and active in backcountry wilderness travel. Before he moved to Maine, Bob was a member of the Salem (Massachusetts) Planning Board and a partner in businesses specializing in period restoration and local development projects.
Dr. Christina Pritham Liros is a fourth generation Greenville resident and a fourth generation health care provider. She is a Certified Nutrition Specialist and has a natural health care practice in Greenville. Christina also has a forestry degree and is a certified scuba diver. She provides underwater services as the Moosehead Mermaid and dives for the log salvage business that she and her partner Joe run on Moosehead Lake. Christina loves to backcountry snowboard and is passionate about protecting the area’s natural resources, including its wildlife, for recreation, tourism, and a truly sustainable forest economy.
Sandra Neily has lived in Greenville since 1980. She has been an outfitter, Licensed Maine Whitewater Guide, Director of the Maine Conservation School, and Maine Audubon’s Outreach Director. Active in planning that affects tourism and economic development, she was an appointee to Maine’s Economic Growth Council and the Citizens’ Advisory Committee to the Northern Forest Lands Council. Sandy is the author of two research reports about Maine’s economy and its outdoor resources: “Valuing the Nature of Maine” and “Watching Out for Maine’s Wildlife”. She is employed by the University of Maine and the Forest Bioproducts Research Project.
Joe Richards is a fourth generation Greenville resident and a third generation logger. He has an accounting degree and has been self-employed most of his adult life running logging, forestry, and tree care related businesses in the Moosehead region. Joe has observed first hand the logging practices of most of the major landowners in the state. He is an avid hiker, hunter, snowmobiler, and ATV user. Joe is committed to maintaining sustainable outdoor recreation, the character of the region, and the small town way of life in Greenville and neighboring villages.
Jim Thorne, Secretary/Treasurer, a resident of both Portland and the Rockwood area, is a camp owner (fourth generation) on Moosehead’s west shore. Jim has worked in real estate and insurance and has been very active in the Appalachian Mountain Club, serving on its board of directors, as well as on the board of the Maine Audubon Society. He is a currently a board member of the Appalachian Trail Land Trust, conserving high value property along Maine’s AT.
Dr. Wendy Weiger, Coordinator, and her mother researched communities from Maine to Alaska before deciding to settle in this region four years ago, selecting the area for its outdoor values and resources. A landowner on First Roach Pond, Wendy is completing a book on the natural world that combines spiritual and scientific perspectives. Wendy has an MD and a PhD from Harvard and worked as a research associate at Harvard Medical School before her move to Maine. She was recently licensed as a Registered Maine Guide and has just started Achor Guiding Service, offering hiking and snowshoeing excursions with an emphasis on nature study.
John Willard, Vice President, is the owner of The Birches Resort. He owns forest lands in the region, having purchased property from Great Northern Paper and created Moosehead Wildlands, open to public use. He is also a real estate developer and conservation proponent, having completed a Concept Plan (the same process Plum Creek is using) that combined the rezoning and sale of land with extensive conservation of Brassua Lake’s northern shores. John is a licensed Maine forester, a Registered Maine Guide, a pilot, and has lived in Rockwood for 36 years.
Joan Wisher is a resident of Frenchtown Township, having arrived here after 16 years as a Massachusetts State Police Trooper. Joan is currently active in a combination of traditional and alternative health care pursuits and is past president of her camp owner association on First Roach Pond. Joan and her Roach Pond neighbors experienced Plum Creek's first Concept Plan rezoning proposal and its various development phases, including harvesting, road building, and lot development.
To talk to Steering Committee members, please call or email the MRFC office:
207-695-4888, info@mooseheadfutures.org.
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