Plum Creek Plan: A Trojan Horse
Devastation Disguised as Conservation

Plum Creek is asking for a 400,000 acre zoning change to allow it to build the largest development in Maine history.


The request is going to the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission, aka LURC.

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LURC has closed the Public Comment period on the Plum Creek Plan, but people are encouraged to spread the word, contact the media, and make their voices heard about how this plan would affect the communities they care for.

LURC is currently revising their Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP). This new CLUP will set the
rules and regulations for the 10 million plus acres in Maine's Unorganized Territory for the next decade or more. One of the objections to Plum Creek's rezoning request is that it would allow a private company to override the new CLUP, which is a plan created with much more Public input and accountability.

Public workshops to present the new CLUP and take
public comments will be held this spring. The
schedule for public workshops is as follows:

* Monday, April 28: Presque Isle Inn & Convention
Schedule

* Tuesday, April 29: Stearns High School
(Millinocket)

* Wednesday, April 30: Greenville High School

* Thursday, May 1: Rangeley Inn

* Monday, May 5: Holiday Inn By The Bay (Portland)

* Wednesday, May 7: Augusta Civic Center

* Thursday, May 8: University of Maine Machias

All meetings are schedule from 6 to 9 p.m.
Reschedule dates, if necessary, will be the week of May 12th.

At the April 2nd regular LURC meeting at the Black Bear Inn in Orono, LURC Commissioners will hear from a panel made up of the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine, the Maine Snowmobile Association, the Maine Professional Guides Association, the
Maine Woods Coalition and possibly other groups to
get their perspective on the new CLUP. The Public is welcome at this meeting.

LURC is accepting Public comment on the new CLUP throughout this Spring. More info is available at:
www.maine.gov/doc/lurc/reference/CLUP_Overview.shtml

Public Comment can be sent to LURC at:
Land Use Regulation Commission
22 State House Station
August, Maine 04333-0022

People can email comments to: LURC (at) maine.gov
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Native Forest Network has compiled a Post Hearing Brief that documents the problems with the plum creek plan and lays out alternatives. It's a good read. Online at:

maineindymedia.org/media/all/display/2154/index.php
and
maineindymedia.org/media/all/display/2153/index.php

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Did You Know That…

Plum Creek is the Largest Private Landowner in the Country

Plum Creek bought the land for $200 from SAPPI, knowing full well it was zoned for forestry, not resorts, and for the first few years of the ownership, Plum Creek reps said very firmly that they had no plans to liquidate and develop the land. Now the company attempting to essentially rewrite Maine land use policy to allow it to build massive high-end exclusive developments.

Plum Creek’s lawyers, affiliated companies, and consultants have extremely close ties to Governor Baldacci’s Administration.
The Governor appoints the LURC Commissioners who are charged with deciding whether to approve Plum Creek’s rezoning plan.

Plum Creek has a history of suing organizations it disagrees with.
In Montana Plum Creek sued Trout Unlimited for challenging its massive 3-state logging plan that threatened fisheries.
Plum Creek also sued Flathead County, Montana, when the County attempted to have the company help pay for costs of increased road maintenance made necessary by Plum Creek’s new housing development.

Plum Creek owns over 70% of the land in the Moosehead Lake Region. The development plans cover an area of land larger than Portland.

Luxury homes in developments built on Plum Creek lands out west sell for millions of dollars.
Company representatives have confirmed that the development would likely result in an increase in home prices for Piscataquis and Somerset Counties. Plum Creek’s so-called “affordable” housing is expected to be subsidized with tax-payer dollars.
“Affordable” housing would average $150,000. That’s over $40,000 more than average home prices for Somerset and Piscataquis Counties.

According to Plum Creek’s own reports, 76% of the jobs the plan could create won’t provide enough income to afford a home in the area.
Most of the well-paying jobs are not expected to go to people currently living the region.

All of Plum Creek’s Maine timberlands are certified sustainable by the “Sustainable Forestry Initiative” (SFI).
SFI certification allows for 120 acre clearcuts, plantation forestry, and growing genetically engineered trees.

SFI is created, monitored, and enforced by the timber industry. Plum Creek President Rick Holley sits of the SFI Board of Directors.
Reviews of whether a company is following SFI rules are usually done by the company itself, and the reports are kept confidential.

The SFI Board rejected calls to remove Plum Creek’s certification, even after the company received the largest fine in history under the Maine Forest Practices Act for massive clearcuts, destroying deer wintering yards, and water pollution.

Waste from Plum Creek’s developments would triple the amount of trash going to the Lily Bay transfer station.
Plum Creek plans call for trucking thousands of tons of waste to Norridgewock, Old Town, Orrington, Unity, Guilford, Dover-Foxcroft, and/or Plymouth, and could require expanding and building new dumps and sludge facilities in Maine.

According to Plum Creek representatives, “more is better” when it comes to waste. They claim that increased amounts of waste will lead to “economies of scale,” so the thousands of tons of new toxic waste could actually have a “positive impact.”

The "Conservation Easement" allows for 200-acres of septage spreading, gravel pits, road building, commercial water bottling operations, cell phone and wind towers, and the option to alter or close off access to the publicly accessible lands.

Plum Creek is set up as a Real Estate Investment Trust, which allows it to avoid paying most all corporate income tax.

Plum Creek bought the hundreds of thousands of acres of Maine land at about $200 and acre in 1998, and gets away with paying extremely low property taxes thanks to tree growth tax rate subsidies.

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Read "Who Owns Maine" Article on Plum Creek's History:
maineindymedia.org/newswire/display/5795/index.php

Read About Plum Creek's Political and Media Connections:
dlsoucy.blogspot.com/2008/01/plum-creek-and-blethen-connection-maine.html

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