Archives & Links
MRFC newsletters
Comments on LURC draft of
Plum Creek's proposal
(filed April 3, 2009)
Comments on LURC-generated
amendments to Plum Creek's proposal (filed July 11,
2008)
Post-hearing brief (filed
March 7, 2008)
Testimony
on the April 2007 revision of Plum Creek's proposal
(pre-filed August 31, 2007)
Requests to LURC regarding
the April 2006 revision of Plum Creek's proposal
Second Press Release (March
23, 2006)
First Press Release (December
6, 2005)
Citizen Solutions (December
6, 2005)
New Group Gives Voices to Maine
People (Bangor Daily News article November 23, 2005)
LURC Scoping Testimony (August
16, 2005)
Link to LURC information
MRFC newsletters
Supporters of the Moosehead Region
Futures Committee receive periodic updates about our
work. If you add
your name to our database, you will receive future
updates. Click on the links below to access past updates:
Comments on LURC draft of Plum Creek's proposal
(filed April 3, 2009)
On March 2, 2009, LURC staff and consultants completed
a revised draft of Plum Creek’s proposal. This draft
incorporated amendments generated by LURC in 2008 after
hearings held in December 2007 and January 2008. Steering
Committee members scrutinized this draft and submitted
a list of ongoing concerns to LURC on April 3, 2009.
MRFC comments
on LURC draft of Plum Creek's proposal
Comments
on LURC-generated amendments to Plum Creek's proposal
(filed July 11, 2008)
After reading the post-hearing briefs
filed by various parties, LURC staff and consultants
developed a list of recommended amendments to Plum Creek’s
application. On July 11, 2008, MRFC Steering Committee
members submitted a critique of these LURC-generated
amendments, specifying further revisions that would
better protect the natural resources owned by the citizens
of Maine and better support a sustainable nature-based
economy.
MRFC
comments on LURC-generated amendments to Plum Creek's
proposal
Post-hearing
brief (filed March 7, 2008)
On March 7, 2008, MRFC Steering Committee
members submitted a post-hearing brief with detailed
requests for revisions to Plum Creek’s proposal. We
based our requests on the testimony presented by MRFC
witnesses as well as what we learned through the testimony
of more than 150 witnesses from other parties.
MRFC
post-hearing brief
Exhibit
1 (Map of MRFC recommendations for the Rockwood area)
Moosehead
Region Futures Committee
“Permanent conservation and sustainable
community development are the bedrock foundations of
the Moosehead Region’s future health and vitality.”
REQUESTS TO MAINE'S LAND USE REGULATION COMMISSION REGARDING
THE APRIL 2006 REVISION OF PLUM CREEK'S PROPOSAL
(These requests were submitted to
LURC October 20, 2006.)
[Note: The first version of Plum Creek's
proposal was submitted to LURC in April 2005. A revised
version of the proposal was submitted in April 2006.
After further revision, a third version of the proposal
was submitted in April 2007.]
- Sustainable Forestry
- Nature-based Tourism
- Wildlife Recreation
- Retirement/2nd Home Industry
It should be noted for the
purposes of this narrative that the first three issues
noted above essentially address the important “Resource-based”
components of the local economy; the fourth addresses
the equally important “Development” component of the
local economy.
1. Sustainable Forestry:
Sustainable forestry practices ensure healthy forest
environments, an ongoing supply of harvestable timber
and forestry jobs for generations to come. These practices
also protect the ecological health of our region, support
diverse populations of wild animals and plants, and
facilitate the growth of nature-based tourism.
LURC Requests:
1. Request that LURC (for forest lands in the project
area) require a 30 year forest management plan (certified
through FSC’s independent certification process) that
will use “Focus Species” management practices to secure
wildlife habitat; include land use standards that are
as protective as current land use management standards
required in LURC jurisdiction; and include easement
language and management criteria for working forests
that are consistent with current LURC model easements
or easements created by the Land For Maine’s Future
program.
2. Request that LURC ask applicant
to revise its economic projections for the project’s
proposed economic contributions, removing sawmill jobs
and their economic impact at this time.
2. Nature-Based Tourism:
Camping, boating, hiking, canoeing & kayaking, skiing,
snowshoeing, snowmobiling, photography, rafting, and
diverse guided experiences of many types are part of
the strongest economic sector of this region and much
of the area’s employment is somehow connected to this
sector. Nature tourism is projected to be one of the
mainstays of the region’s future economy.
LURC Requests:
1. Request LURC require or conduct a comprehensive inventory,
mapping and analysis of current and potential nature-based
tourism assets and experiences that will identify conflicted
areas where development might displace or degrade nature
tourism assets or “wild feeling” and remote experiences,
and will include an economic analysis of region-wide
current and potential tourism resources. (This inventory
should include shorelines, riparian habitat and wildlife
habitat, inventories of natural communities, defining
elevations, scenic views, and sites that offer public
access as well as other high value nature tourism opportunities
in the region.)
2. Request that LURC use this analysis
to create a comprehensive plan for the region that uses
LURC “Natural Character” zones to protect these current
and future economic resources (much the same way
that deer yards are protected by LURC zoning).
3. Request that the applicant revise
its proposed development in conformance with the "Citizen
Solutions" map, as detailed below:
- for the Lily Bay peninsula - only limited residential
development consistent with "smart growth" principles
(shared water access; clustered housing) and existing
development in the immediate area; no resort development
is recommended.
- for the following areas - Prong Pond, Upper Wilson
Pond, shorefront of Upper Indian Pond, Little Brassua
Lake, the northwest of Big Brassua Lake, and Big W
Township - no further development.
4. Request that LURC require the permanent
conservation offered as balance for development:
- be significantly increased in amount - (the current
“mitigation lands” equate to less than 18% of the
plan area acreage).
- be located near each community, throughout plan
area.
- include guaranteed public access, offered free of
charge.
- include guaranteed protection of Second and Third
Roach Ponds and the surrounding lands.
- include all easements offered to be granted in full
immediately upon LURC approval of the proposal.
5. Request the applicant secure the
economic benefits of various trail corridors by:
- providing substantial buffer strips (see Appalachian
Mountain Club guidelines) on either side of proposed
snowmobile and hiking trails and protection of trail
viewsheds.
- offering permanent trail corridors, whose locations
are secured in perpetuity, that include appropriate
trail crossings to support forestry operations without
changing the location of trail systems.
- providing drafts of the regulations that will govern
the proposed snowmobile and hiking trails.
- referring to the MRFC’s “suites of high value nature
tourism experiences” (see “Citizen Solutions” map
and map interpretation document) for information on
current and potential trails in the region.
- creating water access that supports the Northern
Forest Canoe Trail system.
6. Request that the applicant provide
more information about how recreational activities would
be managed and how any applicable regulations would
be enforced. Request that LURC require a multi-recreational
resource planning advisory group, with local and state
stakeholders, to aid in the creation of multi-recreation
management plans to be part of any Concept Plan for
lands that will be available for public access and uses.
3. Wildlife Recreation:
Hunting, fishing, and wildlife watching all require
healthy, diverse wildlife populations. Contiguous tracts
of undeveloped land, riparian areas, high value habitat
for wild animals, and intact natural plant communities
are essential to the ecological and economic vitality
of this region. The potential long-term economic benefits
of conserving un-fragmented, high value habitat will
likely outweigh the short-term benefits of inappropriate
development.
LURC Requests:
1. With regard to lands now proposed as “30-year no
development buffers”, request that LURC:
- Zone areas with high value natural resources as
“Natural Character” zones that would not be available
for development at any future time
- Zone any remaining areas to correspond appropriately
to the LURC Comprehensive Land Use Plan.
2. Request a thorough investigation
be conducted of the compatibility of uses and the impact
that large residential development would have on the
remote Brassua Lakes, Big W and Lily Bay, and consider
those in relation to current and future human, wildlife
and fisheries patterns, the long-term economic benefits
to and character of these distinct areas.
3. Request that LURC require a clause
for the modification of any development plans for the
Unorganized Territories proposed for the future, for
the purposes of protecting important habitat and land
and water features, especially if appropriate, comprehensive
studies have not been conducted and fully evaluated
by independent research.
4. Request that LURC include a provision
in any permit issued to applicant such that the pending
designation of Canada lynx critical habitat would supersede
the applicant’s plan in any and all areas covered by
the permit.
5. Request that LURC require that
deer wintering habitat designated by state game officials
within proposed conservation lands be managed according
to standards that meet or exceed those set by the state
of Maine and that no development be allowed in these
areas.
6. Request that LURC obtain a thorough
third-party survey that clearly identifies and quantifies
the flora and fauna of the aquatic, avian, and terrestrial
natural communities (including, but not limited to,
rare and endangered species) in areas proposed for current
development as well as the proposed 30-year “no-development”
buffer. This survey should include identification of
current wildlife corridors. Request that LURC use this
inventory to locate conflicted sites and create opportunities
for the applicant to relocate development to sites with
fewer wildlife and wildlife recreation conflicts and
to create a wildlife management plan that makes recommendations
for the sustained health of natural communities and
species within areas to host development. (The wildlife
management plan must accurately map the larger “shadow”
effects of both road building and development beyond
exact footprints and offer solutions to secure habitat
needs: ie travel corridors, den and nest sites, food
and browse opportunities, etc.).
7. Request that LURC or the applicant
conduct a study of the impact of roads associated with
development (projected traffic patterns, volumes, animal-vehicle
collisions, wildlife road mortality, the edge effects
of roads on habitat and wildlife populations, the effects
of increased access on animal populations) and use the
analysis to more effectively concentrate development
footprints in ways that reduce wildlife mortality, habitat
fragmentation, and loss of public access.
8. Request that LURC obtain a thorough
inventory of flora and fauna in all areas where construction
of new roads is proposed in order to identify potential
adverse ecological impacts.
9. Request that LURC require the applicant
address water quality issues raised in the application
by providing a full accounting of possible phosphorus
loading from all roads that will be used/created to
support development; calculating phosphorus loading
in Moosehead Lake, Brassua Lake and all other adjacent
water bodies and flowages from proposed development;
reevaluating and removing sites that have soils that
are inappropriate for building without the use of extensive
fill or other types of mitigation, or that will require
additional enforcement; creating adequate riparian buffers
that function both as screens to protect water quality
and travel corridors for wildlife and plant dispersal.
All such work must be conducted by third party analysis,
not by parties hired by the applicant.
10. Request that Class A and AA rivers
receive special consideration for protection as they
comprise a small fraction of the state’s river mileage
and offer important wildlife values, both biologically
and economically.
11. Request that LURC ensure the protection
of the high public, natural, historical, and cultural
values of the East Outlet resources, to the highest
standards allowable by law.
12. Request that the applicant reduce
development in remote areas, on high value riparian
locations and on wildlife corridors (as part of the
legal requirement to balance permanent conservation
with development) in the most affected parts of the
proposed project area. A significant amount of offset
conservation must happen on important wildlife habitat
and wildlife recreation sites that might be most affected
by development; more riparian conservation is required
to balance proposed development in riparian areas. Such
areas can only be substantively identified and quantified
through the use of the work outlined in # 2 through
#8 above.
4. Retirement/ 2nd Home Industry:
This industry also depends on conservation of high value
resources that define this region. People want to own
retirement or second homes near the woods, waters, and
wildlife habitat that initially attracted them to the
area. Supporting real estate development that uses “Smart
Growth” and sustainable community principles (with regard
to the location and amount of development) ensures strong
real estate values even as we secure the health of the
region’s other resource-based sectors.
LURC Requests:
1. Due to the magnitude of the proposed changes and
the breadth of territory involved, it is requested that
LURC uphold adjacency guidelines as an essential tool
that has helped to direct development in the Unorganized
Territories in an orderly, positive way, regardless
of whether they are currently required for Concept Plans.
2. Request that LURC ensure that proposed
zoning standards are at least as protective as are the
current land use standards. For example, the applicant
has changed the zoning standards to allow the construction
of boathouses, which are not allowed by the current
zoning standards. Zoning standards may need to be strengthened
or added in accordance with planned development and
the uses/character/protection of Unorganized Territory
pertaining to issues including traffic, infrastructure,
personal watercraft, wildlife corridors and habitat,
mining operations, and sustainable forestry.
3. Request that LURC require the applicant
to develop nearest to the towns of Greenville and Jackman,
and the village of Rockwood, which will keep new housing
and prospective new services near established services.
4. Request that LURC require proper
current and projected crash data (including big game-vehicle
collisions), road patterns, traffic flow, volumes and
speed analysis in the Unorganized Territory included
in the plan, i.e. Rockwood area townships, Lily Bay,
and Big W; the potential for future conflicts between
active construction traffic and concurrent residential
use of roads should be considered.
5. Request that LURC clarify what
roads will be deeded for access for each proposed subdivision
and what the legal rights will be, both for the prospective
landowners and for the public, as well as how and by
whom those rights will be guaranteed and enforced.
6. Request LURC:
- consider what Rockwood village requires for infrastructure
to meet needs and services into the future, including
investigations into roads and traffic patterns in
compatibility with wildlife corridors, recycling and
the transfer station
- investigate the needs and services that will be
required of the actual population demographic, including
hospital, septic waste, and emergency services, in
relation to developments within the jurisdiction of
the Unorganized Territories
- consider the location and cost of providing the
above services
- eliminate from the proposal the idea of diverting
a percentage of the Unorganized Territories funding
to the Town of Greenville.
7. Request that LURC assess the required
amount of oversight and determine appropriate penalties
to enforce compliance with restrictions that will minimize
negative impacts of development (visual and otherwise),
and that LURC develop a funding strategy to secure the
necessary staffing and resources for adequate enforcement.
8. Request that LURC require developers,
owners, and owner associations to be bound by covenants
that will minimize negative impacts of development (through
regulations regarding screening, lighting, height, square
footage, design, setbacks, tree-cutting and thinning)
and require that landowners contract a certified forester/professional
to accurately interpret pertaining land use rules.
9. Request that LURC require compliance
with Scenic Byway criteria for Route 15 from Greenville
to Rockwood to assure protection of this important corridor
in perpetuity.
10. Request that LURC obtain a market
analysis to assess demand for housing of all types and
price ranges in the plan area, including a complete
survey of previous development and home sales over the
past 15 years, and an inventory of new homes currently
being proposed or built in the adjacent organized communities
of Beaver Cove, Greenville, Shirley, Greenville Junction
and Jackman. This document should project future absorption
rates, including housing type and price range, along
with projected service and infrastructure requirements
for a period of at least 15 years.
11. Request that LURC obtain a third
party analysis of both existing and projected population
of the Unorganized Territories of the Moosehead region,
establishing what net change has occurred in full-time
as well as seasonal local population over at least a
15-year period and what implications arise from that
analysis.
12. Request that LURC limit the size
of the building envelopes and prevent building lots
from being able to be moved from one location to another
within a given subdivision.
13. Request that LURC require the
applicant provide specific assurance of the end use
of the property proposed for development at Big Moose
Mountain and the number, locations, sizes, heights,
types, etc. of buildings/resort units, and what the
allowable uses of a resort will be; the lack of detail
suggests there may be no limit on how much development
can occur in 30 years, leading to poor planning and
types of development that could negatively impact the
character and economic health of the region.
14. Request that the applicant locate
all developments within 1-2 miles of existing town,
county, or state roads and use the most advanced sustainable
community and “smart growth” planning principles in
the proposed subdivision plans to enhance the values
of community and protect wildlife, so that sprawl will
not adversely impact communities, wildlife, recreational
opportunities and tourism development.
15. Request LURC to encourage that
applicant-proposed impact fees continue to be levied
for all re-sales of proposed lots within the plan area,
to facilitate an ongoing, rather than one-time, fund
established to support Education and Recreation.
16. Request that LURC require broad
balance between reaching a critical mass of development
near established service centers and the protection
of remote areas that offer essential natural habitats,
a valuable wildlife and tourism economy, and sustain
the distinct character of the Moosehead region.
Press
Release March 23, 2006
“We have endeavored to map the
visions of the local community, resulting in an opportunity
for Plum Creek to enhance its real estate offerings
by protecting Moosehead’s unique assets.”
- Jim Glavine
This week, the Moosehead Region Futures
Committee released a detailed map of the Moosehead Lake
region that makes land planning recommendations for
Plum Creek, the region’s and nation’s largest private
landowner. The map clearly shows significant plots of
pink colored lands where development might be located
near communities or existing appropriate development.
Backcountry areas, recreation sites, and wildlife habitat
that are needed to sustain the region’s character and
its most lucrative industry, nature tourism, are colored
yellow and surround proposed development areas. Roads
that connect the communities of Greenville, Kokadjo,
Rockwood, and Jackman are marked as “scenic highway
corridors” so that roadside sprawl will not affect the
distinct nature of northern forest communities.
The MRFC is made up of volunteers
who live throughout the 400,000 acres that Plum Creek
Timber seeks to rezone for a variety of other uses.
Since June of 2005 committee members have embarked on
an ambitious “listening” process to hear what area residents
thought should be the region’s future. Wendy Weiger,
a volunteer, explains the beginnings of the group.
“We started as a group of volunteers who wanted to create
a climate where area residents could share, without
fear, their visions for the region’s future. At an
early public meeting, people suggested that we form
a steering committee of residents who live all over
Plum Creek’s proposed project area. That’s what we
did. We then held meetings where we listened to residents
in different parts of the Moosehead region and took
notes when hundreds of people spoke at last summer’s
LURC hearings. We went to road and camp owner association
meetings throughout the region; we met with recreation
and tourism stakeholders and we met twice with Plum
Creek.”
“Last fall, we wrote down the ideas
we heard and put out a planning document called ‘Citizen
Solutions.’ Today, we are releasing a map that
makes many of those ‘citizen solutions’ visible.”
“Citizen Solutions” (published on
the MRFC’s website: www.mooseheadfutures.org)
is a comprehensive list of planning criteria that reflect
the ideas committee members heard over six months of
“listening.” Committee volunteers have a mission to
share what they have “heard” with those who will make
decisions about the region’s future. “Citizen Solutions”
includes guidelines on location and type of development,
conservation areas designed to support the local economy,
guaranteed public access, forest management that avoids
fragmentation of “working” forest lands, impact fees
that might support the region’s schools, affordable
housing for a diverse labor force, the need for local
businesses to benefit from development activities, and
requirements that Plum Creek and other developers work
with area planners on infrastructure challenges (traffic,
waste disposal, emergency services, etc).
Committee members met several times
with Plum Creek and urged its planning team to configure
development and conservation in ways that would support
both Plum Creek’s financial goals and the area’s need
to retain its unique character. Committee member Jim
Glavine explained the benefits: “Plum Creek’s development
options are even more valuable when they are surrounded
by outdoor resources and experiences that will…..forever….
retain their unique wild-feeling values. We clearly
heard that people up here wanted some development and
growth, but that it should be carefully planned so as
not to destroy the region’s traditional character.
We have endeavored to map the visions of the local community,
resulting in an opportunity for Plum Creek to enhance
its real estate offerings by protecting Moosehead’s
unique assets.”
Because many of the key planning
recommendations in “Citizen Solutions” were about the
area’s geography and its woods, waters and wildlife
assets, committee members felt that a map was a good
tool to make residents’ ideas visible to those who will
decide the region’s future.
“This map tries to send several important
messages,” explains Pete Johnson, another MRFC volunteer.
“It asks Plum Creek to concentrate development near
communities in ways that will support the region’s economy,
provide permanent conservation of high value woods,
waters and wildlife habitat that are the heart of the
region’s north woods assets, and it tries to start a
conversation about areas needed for nature tourism.
This map offers a creative and hopeful ‘win-win’ solution
to an area that does not need to be divided against
itself.”
Committee members think of the map
as a “draft map” and a work that is still “in progress.”
“Our website collects ideas that people send us and
we continue to meet with groups and businesses that
have ideas about the region’s future. We have yet to
get all the important trails and recreation assets on
a base map and there’s still so much information on
wildlife habitat and winter shelter for deer that we
need to hear,” said Sandra Neily, MRFC’s coordinator.
Committee members hope to continue
their discussion with Plum Creek even after the company
releases its revised proposal for the Moosehead Region.
They also plan on being legal interveners during public
hearing proceedings before Maine’s Land Use Regulation
Commission.
Press
Release December 6, 2005
Press Conference, Augusta, State
House Hall of Flags, 10:15 AM
Public Meeting, Greenville, Community
House, 7:00 PM
Website Launch: December 6th
Announcing 17 “guidelines” of detailed
recommendations to: site development near communities;
secure permanent conservation; guarantee public access;
provide benefits to local contractors and businesses;
create affordable housing; set up an endowment for area
schools; support communities with infrastructure assistance;
protect high value trout ponds, rivers, habitat, and
shorelines; and ensure intact working forests.
***********************************************
“Permanent conservation and sustainable
community development are the bedrock foundations of
the Moosehead Region’s future health and vitality.”
This statement about conservation
and sustainable community development opens “Citizen
Solutions,” the Moosehead Region Futures Committee’s
call for 17 planning and
revision guidelines that should guide Plum Creek’s
rezoning application as well as the plans of other developers,
landowners, and planners in the region.
In June of 2005, Plum Creek Timber’s
Concept Plan to rezone over 400,000 acres of lands in
the Moosehead Region, as well as other significant development
applications (McPherson’s Burnt Jacket subdivision),
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. They saw Plum Creek’s rezoning application
as an opportunity and created a mission statement “to
encourage, gather and incorporate area residents’ ideas
and expertise to shape and balance the region’s future
development, economy, and conservation efforts.”
Since June this group of volunteers
has organized listening and information meetings in
the many communities affected by Plum Creek’s proposed
project, attended road and landowner association meetings
from one end of the 400,000 acres to the other, and
been a part of Maine’s Land Use Regulation Commission
“scoping sessions” where residents came to share their
ideas about the future of the region.
At a press conference in Augusta,
Wendy Weiger, a MRFC volunteer, talked about “the power
of ordinary people to effect extraordinary change.”
She quoted Margaret Mead who said, “Never doubt that
a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever
has.” Wendy went on to say, “We are working to make
sure that a very large group of committed citizens can
use this moment as an opportunity to change Moosehead’s
future for the better.”
John Willard explained that he and
others who organized the group wanted to gather committee
volunteers from affected communities within and adjacent
to the 400,000 acres Plum Creek is seeking permission
to rezone. “We wanted people who could listen to their
friends and neighbors, people who will be most affected
by the bulldozers that will either build up or destroy
a north woods way of life.”
Jim Glavine explained the committee’s
work to take hundreds of citizen comments about important
area values and shape them into a list of “guidelines”
that Plum Creek and other developers might use to respect
the essential “economic sectors of the region’s sustainable
economy: sustainable forestry, nature tourism, wildlife
recreation, and the retirement & second home industry.”
The 17 “Planning and Revision Guidelines”
are very specific and Mildred Kennedy of the committee
explained that “you could almost take them to a map
and draw the region’s future….mark down areas that work
well for future development and areas that must be protected
for our grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”
In fact, that’s just what the Moosehead
Region Futures Committee is hoping to do. Glavine explains
that Futures Committee’s new website has detailed maps
and easy methods for people to share their knowledge
and suggestions. “We want to invite thousands of people
from all over the region and the state to visit the
website and use these maps to help us communicate their
ideas for the region’s future.”
The 17 planning and revision guidelines
include detailed recommendations to site development
near communities; secure permanent conservation; guarantee
public access; provide benefits to local contractors
and businesses; create affordable housing; set up an
endowment for area schools; support communities with
infrastructure assistance; protect high value trout
ponds, rivers, habitat, and shorelines; and ensure intact
working forests.
“Citizen
Solutions”
(Released December 6, 2005 by the Moosehead Region Futures
Committee)
Economic Sectors of the Moosehead
Region’s Sustainable Economy
Four sectors provide a strong base for economic growth
in the Moosehead region, growth that is both sustainable
and compatible with our region’s culture and traditions.
All four sustainable sectors are dependent upon intact
woods, waters, and wildlife resources. Permanent conservation
and sustainable community development are the bedrock
foundations of the Moosehead Region’s future health
and vitality.
1. Sustainable Forestry:
Sustainable forestry practices ensure healthy forest
environments, an ongoing supply of harvestable timber
and forestry jobs for generations to come. These practices
also protect the ecological health of our region, support
diverse populations of wild animals and plants and facilitate
the growth of nature-based tourism.
2. Nature Based Tourism:
Camping, boating, hiking, canoeing & kayaking, skiing,
snowshoeing, snowmobiling, photography, rafting and
diverse guided experiences of many types are part of
the strongest economic sector of this region and much
of the area’s employment is somehow connected to this
sector. Nature tourism is projected to be one of the
mainstays of the region’s future economy.
3. Wildlife Recreation:
Hunting, fishing, and wildlife watching, all require
healthy diverse wildlife populations. Contiguous tracts
of undeveloped land, riparian areas, high value habitat
for wild animals, and intact natural plant communities
are essential to the ecological and economic vitality
of the region. The potential long-term economic benefits
of conserving unfragmented, high value habitat will
likely outweigh the short-term benefits of inappropriate
development.
4. Retirement/ 2nd Home Industry
This industry also depends on conservation of high value
resources that define the region. People want to own
retirement or second homes near the woods, waters, and
wildlife habitat that initially attracted them to the
area. Supporting real estate development that uses “Smart
Growth” and sustainable community principles (in the
location and amount of development) ensures strong real
estate values even as we secure the health of the region’s
other resource based sectors.
PLANNING
(REVISION) GUIDELINES FOR A SUSTAINABLE MOOSEHEAD REGION
FUTURE
Many hundreds of area citizens, joined by those who
value the Moosehead Lake Region, have been clear about
the values that should guide future land use
planning. The Moosehead Region Futures Committee has
worked to gather these values into “guidelines” that
might shape Plum Creek’s revision of its rezoning application,
LURC hearings on McPherson’s Burnt Jacket subdivision
proposal, and future development and conservation plans
for this region.
- Development Near Communities: Development
should be based on “smart growth” and sustainable
community principles (in the amount and location of
development) and be located near to or within the
communities of the region. Action: create a “Gateway
Community Development Zone” to guide future development
in the region.
- Permanent Conservation: Maine’s laws are
clear: applicants must provide significant, permanent
conservation in their rezoning Concept Plan applications.
Permanent conservation easements should be placed
on significant portions of rezoned land and take place
before development begins. Action: create landscape
scale conservation areas, securing large blocks of
contiguous woods and waters as working forest, habitat,
and recreation sites.
- Guaranteed Public Access: Public access in
this region includes valued relationships with forest
landowners, traditional access to large tracts of
forest lands, and access to publicly owned resources:
lakes, navigable rivers, wildlife. Public access is
also essential to our tourism economy. Action: create
a permanent agreement by landowners to keep forested
lands open to the public for recreational use with
appropriate restrictions as necessary to assure a
safe environment for continued forest management activities.
- Rivers, Ponds, Habitat, Conserved: Wild
trout ponds, undeveloped or sparsely developed river
segments and shore frontage, high value wildlife habitat
(the “green infrastructure” of the economy) will be
conserved. Action: these resources will be inventoried,
valued for both their ecosystem and nature tourism
potential, and protected from inappropriate development.
- Business Benefits: Economic activity created
by development should benefit the local economy whenever
possible. Action: create an agreement to offer local
businesses (contractors, service providers, suppliers,
etc) fair opportunities to bid competitively for projects
that result from development.
- Intact Forestlands: Fragmentation of forest
resources by inappropriate backcountry development
reduces the future value of “working” forests and
degrades north woods tourism opportunities. Action:
require the creation of “restricted development” and
“no new development” zones that would eliminate back-woods
lot development (residential and commercial) in high
value woodlands.
- Nature Tourism Experiences Protected: Tourism
is Maine’s and this region’s largest employer. Action:
create a regional planning process to identify the
current and future experiences that will grow this
economic sector and protect and manage the natural
resources that deliver these experiences.
- Trail Planning: A world class land and water
trail system will be at the heart of the region’s
economic and wellness future. Action: convene a planning
process to determine the need for and location of
permanent people powered and motorized trails appropriate
for all types of use and users. Trail easements created
by developers will be granted in perpetuity (with
appropriate buffers) and sited to benefit tourism
and local fitness and recreation needs.
- Squaw Resort Revitalized: Plum Creek’s current
site for a resort in Lily Bay does not offer the most
economic promise for the region. Action: relocate
the resort proposed for the Lily Bay region to an
area adjacent to and/or contiguous with the Squaw
Mt. Resort in order to revitalize the region’s winter
economy, benefit both Rockwood’s and Greenville’s
economies, and reduce backcountry sprawl.
- Affordable Housing: This region needs to
retain and attract a diverse labor force. Action:
create affordable housing units within the communities
affected by Plum Creek’s rezoning application. Create
strategies to ensure units are not subject to speculation
and are reserved for area workers who most need them.
- Impacts Reduced: As the region grows it will
be essential to plan more carefully for the impacts
of that growth so that we retain our “north woods”
character as much as possible. Action: require developers
to create plans that limit the scale of development
in sensitive areas, support scenic corridors, create
cluster housing and shared amenities (roads, docks,
etc) whenever possible and attach deed covenants that
contain specific outdoor lighting and noise restrictions.
Area planners and state agencies should cooperate
in regulations that protect north woods experiences
(for example: limit personal watercraft on waters
that provide “traditional” north woods experiences.)
- Rockwood Area Reevaluated: The density,
scale and location of Plum Creek’s original development
proposal would significantly alter the Rockwood/Brassua
area. Action: redesign both the location and scale
of proposed development (resorts, house lots, campgrounds,
visitors’ facility) so that development reflects the
specific needs of the Rockwood Community and the surrounding
region.
- Roach Ponds Conservation: Second and Third
Roach Ponds and the lands surrounding them have the
highest value as more remote backcountry experiences,
wildlife habitat, and working forest (where appropriate).
Action: support an agreement by the landowner to enter
into a multi-year option that will enable the State
of Maine to acquire high value lands in the Second
and Third Roach Ponds region.
- Impact Fees For Education: A diverse local
population depends on healthy area schools. Unless
the region is to become comprised of only retirement
or vacation home owners and those who service their
needs, the Moosehead Region needs help to secure and
improve its schools. Action: require landowners
and development applicants to pay per-lot impact fees
that will be used to establish a school endowment,
providing programs that offer incentives for local
students and their families to remain in the region.
- Tree Growth Benefits:When land is rezoned
out of forestry and developed the cost of providing
infrastructure and services for this development falls
on local communities. Action: consider the creation
of a state mechanism for the return of a portion of
tree growth tax penalty payments (for lands developed
and removed from forestry in the region) to service-center
communities as compensation for increased infrastructure
expenditures.
- Infrastructure Assistance: With the benefits
of increased development also come infrastructure
demands that struggling northern communities cannot
support. Action: Plum Creek will deed to the communities
of Greenville, Shirley, Rockwood, Beaver Cove, and
the state or county on behalf of unorganized territories,
land proven to be suitable for the development and
construction of a Solid and Liquid Waste Disposal
and Recycling Facility, in accordance with the anticipated
future needs of the region.
- Professional Planning & Research: In order
to assure that these values and guidelines are incorporated
into future development and conservation, this region
requires the benefits that flow from 3rd party analysis
and research. Action: LURC, other state agencies,
the University of Maine will convene appropriate research
and analysis on (but not limited to) the following:
the costs and benefits of development as well as conservation
(lost opportunities as well as realized economic opportunity);
the impacts and infrastructure requirements of future
development (roads, septic systems, etc); a thorough
survey that clearly identifies and quantifies the
flora and fauna of the aquatic, avian and terrestrial
natural communities in areas might support development
or be adjacent to development; water quality assessments;
an inventory of high value working forest lands and
their current and potential products, and an inventory
of nature tourism sites and requirements (experiences,
view sheds, trails, access, amenities, information
services, etc).
The Opportunity: Current large
scale development proposals (Plum Creek’s Lake Concept
Plan, McPherson’s Burnt Jacket subdivision application)
as submitted, do not adequately address large and important
development and conservation planning for the Moosehead
Region. Residents and area supporters might see this
as a valuable opportunity to craft a vision for the
future of the region. While development pressures for
these last wild areas of Maine are sure to increase
in the coming years, it is our duty and responsibility
as citizens of the region to rise to this challenge
and not allow the desires of a few to dictate the future
for the many. The very nature of these unprecedented
applications demands that the Land Use Regulation Commission,
the Department of Conservation, the Office of the Governor,
the Conservation Community, potential developers and
the public work cooperatively to reassess the future
needs of the entire state and make such changes in rules,
regulations, policies and practices as may be required
to assure that the culture, history, traditions and
values of Maine are represented in future land use decisions.
There is little doubt that this is the first of many
such plans to be presented by this and other landowners,
large and small. The decisions we make now will become
important precedents for future rezoning and land use
applications.
The Moosehead Region Futures Committee
looks forward to continuing to play a positive role
as an “honest broker” of information from local voices
who want to be heard by the decision makers of our state.
There’s much more “listening” and research to be completed.
Please visit the interactive map
on the Futures Committee’s website to share your ideas,
suggestions, knowledge and solutions!
New
group gives voice to people of Moosehead
Wednesday, November 23, 2005 - Bangor Daily News
GREENVILLE - For months now, residents
of the Moosehead Lake region have been gathering at
kitchen tables in homes and in meeting halls to discuss
Plum Creek's proposed development and conservation plan
for the region.
From those discussions, it was clear
that residents had recommendations, concerns and suggestions
not only about the Seattle-based company's 426,000-acre
conservation and development plan, but also about other
development proposed for the region.
Many of these residents felt uncomfortable
about airing their concerns during public meetings before
state officials and figured that their voices would
never be heard outside of the region.
But that won't be the case.
From those meetings, the Moosehead
Region Futures Committee was hatched, a committee that
will serve as a conduit where residents' ideas about
the region can be communicated to those who will make
permitting decisions, according to Sandra Neily of Greenville
and John Willard of Rockwood.
It is not a membership organization
where people take sides on an issue; it is more of a
"regional conversation" of the region's future and how
it will all get there, explained Neily, who was hired
as the MRFC coordinator. The group has opened an office
in Greenville and expects to have a Web site soon.
The working goals of this grass-roots
organization has received interest and support from
the Northeast State Foresters Association, the Northern
Forest Center, and the New England Grassroots Environment
Fund, all organizations that support local efforts to
link rural economies and careful management of natural
resources. Together these groups have awarded MRFC a
total of $14,500.
The Northeast State Foresters Association
works to encourage sound decisions about the management
and use of forest resources across Maine, New Hampshire,
Vermont and New York. The Northern Forest Center is
a private, nonprofit organization that mobilizes people
to build healthy communities, economies and ecosystems
by working together across the northern forest region.
A small grant program, the New England Grassroots Environment
Fund, is designed to foster local grass-roots environmental
initiatives that results in broader community involvement.
Neither for nor against development,
the Moosehead Region Futures Committee will try to create
a service process to help as many people as possible
to be part of the review process, according to Willard.
He said Plum Creek has met with the committee once but
has never held any discussions with residents of Rockwood,
where the company plans about 75 percent of its development.
Pete Johnson, an MRFC member from
Wilson Pond, thinks the committee's best contribution
might be the opportunity to act as an honest broker
between all the various stakeholders of the region.
He said he hopes "the committee will have a significant
impact in articulating the region's core values of sustainability,
forestry, nature-based tourism, preservation of wildlife
and planned habitat and development."
"This is a pivotal time in the Moosehead
Lake region," said Wendy Weiger of Greenville, another
MRFC member. It is a time of great risks but it also
offers great opportunities, she said.
"Change is inevitable; we must act
now to ensure that our region changes for the better
not for the worse," she said.
Land
Use Regulation Commission “Scoping Session”
Greenville, August 16, 2005
Testimony from the Moosehead Region Futures Committee
My name is Mildred Kennedy. Thank
you for this opportunity to speak with you. I encourage
you to return to this region for more scoping and “listening”
work as one or two public meetings may not give you
all the information you need to guide your decisions.
Many voices will not be heard here tonight and their
ideas about a future for this region are important to
your planning and the Commissioners’ decisions.
I am a resident of Greenville. My
family owns land here in town as well as on Scammon
Ridge, Wilson Pond, and at Socatean Stream. I can name
my Maine roots back seven generations and proudly say
I am a Mainer raised in the North Woods on Moosehead
Lake.
I am here to testify on behalf of
the Moosehead Region Futures Committee. Our organization
consists of a steering committee of volunteers from
around the region and a database of many hundreds of
people who want to be part of the region’s future. In
fact each day anywhere from 2 to 20 people contact us
and ask to be part of this information and communication
service....and that is what we offer....a service on
behalf of those who care deeply about the region’s future.
We are working to create a region-wide conversation
where people from around the region can discuss their
ideas for the future.
The Moosehead Region Futures Committee
is funded by donations (large & small) given by area
residents from Roach Pond to Brassua Lake. We are not
a membership organization....no one has to join anything.
We not affiliated with other organizations or LURC permit
applicants.
The Moosehead Region Futures Committee
is “free” to work on behalf of a greater citizen voice
in the decisions that will shape this region’s future.
My fellow steering committee members
and I may have different attitudes about Plum Creek’s
proposal but we all share an important goal.
The Moosehead Region Futures Committee
wants to use this application (as well as other large
development applications) as an opportunity to create
a better future for this region.
Our mission is to gather and incorporate
area residents’ ideas and expertise to shape and balance
the region’s future development, economy, and conservation
efforts.
Our work involves information sharing
with hundreds of area residents (year round and seasonal).
In turn, they share their ideas about development and
conservation with us....often referring closely to maps
of the region or maps of Plum Creek’s proposal.
Many people have suggested issues
and values that should guide those who plan the region’s
future. We have collected a list of their ideas to
share with you, but tonight I would like to focus on
one value that is important to so many people.
I am part of the Moosehead Region
Futures Steering Committee because....as a photographer,
hunter, explorer, landowner and Maine-iac to the core....I
treasure the genuine landscape people flock to "to get
away from it all” and I support a process that includes
residents’ ideas and expertise in how we will care for
these landscapes. We have a valuable commodity here.
We can call it the “Moosehead brand.” People have told
us that the Moosehead “brand” includes wild places,
wildlife habitat, water quality, quietness, remoteness,
dark night skies without light pollution, undeveloped
trails, shores, and rivers, and opportunities for their
grandchildren and great grandchildren to harvest wood,
hunt, roam undeveloped shorelines, and feel that out
their backdoor....the north woods is still only a few
feet or miles away.
But people have also been clear that
they do not reject all development. They support growth
and development that does not destroy the very reason
that they live here or moved here. Many have suggested
that much of Plum Creek’s development should be cited
closer to (or between) the towns of Rockwood and Greenville,
avoiding backcountry sprawl and creating better revenue
opportunities for the gateway communities. People are
well aware that this community needs economic vitality
and opportunity, but the voices we hear are clear that
sacrificing the region’s unique character is too great
a sacrifice. I, too, want my children to hear the
stories of their great grand fathers and see their history
in the working woods, ponds with brook trout, miles
of open space for hunting and amazing vistas. But we
can only do this with a well thought out vision of what
the “Moosehead brand” is and how we can grow without
degrading the very ingredients that make the “Moosehead”
brand so genuine. There truly is no place east of the
Mississippi River that looks or feels like this region’s
north woods character. Part of what we also cherish
here is the unusual blend of people who live here.
If the region becomes only a haven for the very rich
and those who wait on them we will have lost another
important Moosehead ingredient.
Moosehead and its “brand” of outdoor
amenities and resources....its woods, waters and wildlife
treasures....already are....but will become even more
so....the only region of its kind in our part of the
world. This planning process is too important to leave
to market forces that are fueled by real estate speculation
combined with great wealth. We encourage you to begin
an inventory process that can identify the region’s
assets and direct development to appropriate locations.
The Moosehead Region Futures Committee will work to
gather and articulate a vision for the Moosehead Lake
region which incorporates residents' ideas and expertise
to shape and balance the future's development, economy
and conservation efforts. We look forward to sharing
this large regional conversation about the region’s
future with you and the LURC commissioners....who we
wish were here this evening.
Thank you.
Link
to LURC information
www.maine.gov/doc/lurc/reference/resourceplans/moosehead.html
Maine's Land Use Regulation Commission
(LURC) is in charge of planning and zoning for Maine's
North Woods and Unorganized Territories. This web page
lists key steps in LURC’s evaluation of Plum Creek’s
proposal and provides the criteria that LURC will use
in its evaluation. There is also a chronological listing
of official interactions between LURC and Plum Creek
that is regularly updated.
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