Plum Creek’s proposal: Sustainable, economical

This month, Maine’s Land Use Regulation Commission is holding public and technical hearings on Plum Creek Timber Co.’s concept plan for the Moosehead Lake region. As a former state senator, I believe that the biggest challenge for all involved will be to keep their focus on the issue before them, rather than on the many distractions.

For example, while it will be tempting for the media and other observers to view the hearings as a clash between the country’s largest private landowner on one side and well-meaning environmental groups on the other; it is important for the LURC members to remember that their job is to determine if this plan is good for the communities of Moosehead Lake based on the evidence and arguments presented.

I wish them the wisdom of Solomon.

On one level, that might appear to be an obvious statement, but given the role that the Maine Woods play in the hearts and minds of both Mainers and visitors from away, it should be just as obvious that for many people this is as much a matter of passion as it is a public policy decision.

Moreover, LURC members should not be easily swayed by the numbers of speakers who turn out for the public hearings, especially in Greenville. The process should not be driven by how many folks can be bused to the hearings. This isn’t about body counts. There are obviously many more people in southern Maine than there are in regions north of Route 2, but regardless of their passion, southern Maine residents simply do not have nearly as much at stake as do the residents of Piscataquis and Somerset counties.

Partisans and commissioners alike need to remember that the goal is not to determine if Plum Creek’s plan is either perfect or totally wrong for the Moosehead Lake region. Rather, the challenge is to decide whether the plan’s potential benefits outweigh its potential negative consequences.

With all those considerations as a backdrop, I urge support for the Plum Creek proposal.

If the plan is approved it will lead to the second-largest conservation easement in the history of the country. It is hard for me to imagine how anyone concerned with the future of the Maine Woods cannot recognize the importance of such a deal. Nearly 400,000 acres of prime Maine forestland will be protected forever as a resource for both sustainable forestry and the full range of traditional outdoor recreation.

As for those areas that will be re-zoned to allow for development, I believe they have been thoughtfully located and, more importantly, designed with an eye toward enabling the Moosehead region to regain some of its former luster as an economic engine for the region. I fondly recall yearly trips with my parents to the Mount Kineo Resort during the ’50s, including a mandatory boat ride across the lake, to attend trucking conventions. Alas, that resort is no more.

Now, when I snowmobile in the region, diminished economic activity is all too obvious.

In particular, the two proposed resorts will be able to tap into the emerging nature-based tourism market, bringing new customers to area outfitters, guides and other hospitality businesses. My wife, Bonnie, and I have spent nearly 20 years in the eco-tourism business in Bar Harbor and Savannah, Ga., and know firsthand the value of that clientele. Yes, 70 cruise ships in the harbor this year created traffic … and, yes, they also created excellent economic activity … a reasonable exchange for Bar Harbor.

As an entrepreneur who has been involved in numerous projects that have required regulatory review, I have also been impressed by Plum Creek’s obvious willingness to revise its initial proposal repeatedly in an attempt to satisfy the goals of a broad range of stakeholders, including several state agencies. They have listened.

With its most recent round of changes, Plum Creek has proposed the creation of the Moosehead Region Community Stewardship Fund that will help the company develop and implement recreational management plans for the land that is placed under conservation easement.

The creation of the fund will guarantee that local residents, commercial guides and other recreationists will have a consistent voice in how Plum Creek’s lands are managed to the betterment of all Mainers. What a wonderfully sustainable notion.

It is easy to see how some people would consider a proposal of this scale to be too much change for a place such as the Moosehead Lake region. After all, for many the area’s primary value is that it never changes. However, according to a South African proverb: “He who fails to change voluntarily … will be changed painfully.”

While it isn’t perfect, Plum Creek’s proposal will protect a significant part of the Moosehead landscape while allowing local residents the promise of change for the better.

I urge LURC to help the residents of the Moosehead Lake region step into the future with confidence by approving the Plum Creek Concept Plan.

W. Tom Sawyer Jr., a former state senator from Bangor, lives in Hulls Cove.