Does one company have the right to change the character of Maine’s northern forest forever? Perhaps. Plum Creek has asked Maine’s Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC) to rezone about 426,000 acres in the Moosehead area. It is a concept draft that proposes planned growth over 30 years, including up to 975 house lots, a major 3000-acre resort, another major resort lodge, at least one golf course, three RV parks, and four new sporting camps in undefined locations. Naturally, a view of what 30 years’ growth really looks like is terrifying. In 1975, if you had glimpsed a map of what Maine would look like in 2005, you might have voted no at every opportunity.

Some people will say that Plum Creek’s land is private property and they should be allowed to do anything they want with it. While private property rights must be protected, Plum Creek is asking for a rezoning, the ability to change what it can legally do with its property. That’s public policy. We all have a say in how our communities are formed and maintained. If you’ve ever wondered why Maine has so little publicly owned land compared to other states such as New Hampshire, it is because Massachusetts sold these lands for pennies an acre before Maine was even a state. Ever since, there has been a tacit agreement between Maine people and private landowners in Maine’s North Woods: They provide jobs and access, and we provide tax breaks and subsidies.

In recent years, this dynamic has changed. Kingdom buyers have snapped up whole townships for private use. Paper companies have sold vast tracts of Maine forest and shoreland to real estate investment companies like Plum Creek that maximize shareholder value by selling off the most desirable portions of Maine to people who can most afford them. Hint: that’s probably not you.

The scoping sessions that have just concluded have focused on the specific concerns that are raised by Plum Creek’s proposal. We’re probably a long way from answering the deeper questions, like: If Plum Creek bought the property in 1998 with a “highest and best use” intention of development, why have we been taxing them at a rate less than the Maine constitution requires? Conversely, if conservationists believe that the best value we can extract from these lands, economically and philosophically, is through ecotourism development, where is their plan? (To be fair, some, including the Appalachian Mountain Club, have been working toward this vision.)

Few opponents of Plum Creek’s proposal have expressed disapproval without first proclaiming a sympathy for development. Piscataquis County has lost jobs, prosperity and population at a staggering rate. It seems the disagreement is over what kind of development is appropriate, and what good and bad development actually looks like. Most would agree that Plum Creek’s offer to set aside land for industrial use and affordable housing is good. Most would agree that anything that makes Maine’s Moosehead Lake look like New Hampshire’s Lake Winnipesaukee is bad.

The truth must lie in the middle, but describing what this truth looks like is hard. As a tool, come up with a real-life example of your own personal vision. There are plenty of candidates. What part of New Hampshire’s White Mountains works for you? Is Lake Placid, N.Y., your idea of heaven? Would you like to see development in Greenville explode like Jackson Hole, Wyo., Branson, Mo., or Gatlinburg, Tenn.? All are on the edge of awe-inspiring nature. Would you combine outdoor recreation and gambling to outdraw the casinos of southern New England?

Once you’ve determined your personal vision for the North Woods, spend a few minutes analyzing whether the vision is possible. Nostalgic folks reminisce about the grand resorts that once existed on the lake. But the steamships and trains that served them a century ago are gone, and we must figure out if Bostonians are really going to spend three dollars a gallon to get here. If so, how many of your tax dollars are you willing to part with in order to widen Route 15 so that they can get to their new summer homes more conveniently?

Other areas of Maine have tried the approach envisioned for Moosehead. In your opinion, how are the Sugarloaf and Sunday River areas doing in becoming four-season resort destinations? Has the rental market been there for them? How many grand resorts are on New Hampshire’s lakes? Or have these lakes really become just gated communities for the wealthy?

One argument for development is that growth is attracted to living areas that offer a high quality of life. Will Moosehead’s inestimably high quality of life overcome its distance from markets, suppliers, educated work force and affordable utilities to attract high-paying manufacturing jobs? Or will it more resemble the White Mountains region of New Hampshire, which has also lost its manufacturing base despite its tourism assets? As citizens we need to develop two distinct visions: what is desirable and what is possible.

Bob Duchesne, of Hudson, is a Democratic state representative from District 13.