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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.]

Four Economic Sectors of the Moosehead Region’s Sustainable Economy

1. Sustainable Forestry
2. Nature-based Tourism
3. Wildlife Recreation
4. 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

MOOSEHEAD CITIZENS ORGANIZATION RELEASES MAP OF “CITIZEN SOLUTIONS”…….PLANNING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PLUM CREEK’S MOOSEHEAD REGION LANDS

“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 & PUBLIC MEETING: MOOSEHEAD REGION CITIZENS’ GROUP RELEASES “CITIZEN SOLUTIONS”……..REVISION AND PLANNING GUIDELINES FOR PLUM CREEK 

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.

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“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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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. 
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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.)
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. 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. 
16. 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.
17. 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

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.