Yes on 1

I would like to express my support for Question 1, the Compact for Maine’s Forests. The compact is a sustainable forest plan that will help protect the state’s forests, forest jobs and economy.

A yes vote on Question 1 will mean that Maine’s forest landowners, sportsmen, environmentalists, recreation groups and state agencies can work together. By working together, we can balance environmental concerns with the need for a stable economy. I encourage Maine voters to exercise common sense and vote yes on Question 1 in November. Kenneth Lane Millinocket

Opinions of the forest compact, coming to a vote in November as Question 1, span the range of the political spectrum. Radical environmental groups claim it offers no significant controls on clear cutting and other forest practices, and is merely a political ruse devised by big business and Gov. Angus King; advocates for private property rights insist that it is too stringent and is merely the latest ploy by the government to gain control of private land. The very fact that Question 1 can elicit such conflicting responses from the extreme right and left is perhaps the greatest endorsement for a yes vote on Question 1, which represents a balance beteen environmental concerns and those of private landowners.

Question 1 reduces the size of clear cuts by 70 percent. It increases the size of buffer zones around clear cuts and restricts the use of clear cuts by large landowners (more than 100,000 acres) to no more than 1 percent in any given year. It lays the groundwork for the elimination of liquidation harvesting and it also provides special provisions for small landowners to ensure greater flexibility for all.

Question 1 has the backing of such environmental groups as the Natural Resource Council of Maine and the Maine Audubon Society. It also has the backing of Gov. King and the Maine Forest Service. Question 1 is a balanced, positive plan for sustainable forestry and would add stability to an area of concern where now only uncertainty and confusion exist. Neil C. Marquis Rumford