LOCAL News :: Environment : Miscellaneous : Plum Creek : Protest Activity

Plum Creek's Plan Called Trojan Horse

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23 Nov 2007

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Plum Creek Plan: A Trojan Horse
Devastation Disguised as Conservation

Friday, Nov. 23, 2007-

Portland, Maine

Monument Square was filled with puppets and people in costume today at 1:00 pm as volunteers and supporters of the Native Forest Network unveiled a six foot tall gift box that they claim represents Plum Creek's proposal for the Moosehead Lake Region. Native Forest Network is an all volunteer state-wide coalition intervening to oppose Plum Creek's proposed development plan. The group moved a large box {painted with a $35 million price tag and depicting a traditional North Woods scene} into Monument Square and opened it to reveal stumps, roads, a golf course and a development {scene} on the inside of the box.

Plum Creek's Concept Plan proposes to rezone 20,000 acres, an area roughly the size of Portland, for development as part of its Moosehead Lake Concept Plan. The plan includes 90,000 acres of conservation easements to satisfy the Land Use Regulatory Commission's (LURC) requirement for a conservation balance. An additional 266,000 acres worth of development rights on Plum Creek land will be sold to The Nature Conservancy and The Appalachian Mountain Club for $35 million.

This conservation is being hailed by many as an unprecedented opportunity to protect a large tract of land in Northern Maine, however, the conservation easements only prevent further development. They do not prevent gravel mining, spreading of sewage sludge, commercial water extraction, "sustainable forestry," or other economic activity.

Plum Creek has recently come under fire from environmental groups such as the Natural Resources Council of Maine and Maine Audubon Society for its forestry practices. In recent years, Plum Creek received the state's largest fines, illegally constructed an unpermitted powerline, felled a tree containing an eagle's nest, and cut down white-tail deer wintering yards, all while having its practices certified as "sustainable forestry" by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, an industry run certification group set up to greenwash corporate forestry practices.

Native Forest Network contends that Plum Creek is using these easements as a "Trojan Horse." The contents of the gift suggest that what on the outside may look like conservation is really loaded with loopholes that most people wouldn't associate with protected land.

Emily Posner, a volunteer with the group, says, "Mainers should not be deceived by the shallow promises of the conservation easements. In reality, these easements are constructed to ensure a constant stream of profit for Plum Creek while sacrificing the ecological integrity and cultural heritage of the region."

"Its a pretty bad deal for Mainers and a pretty good deal for Plum Creek when they get to sell the development rights for $35 million, and still retain access for extraction and dumping," says Will Niels of Appleton, a volunteer with Native Forest Network.

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Re: Plum Creek's Plan Called Trojan Horse

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24 Nov 2007

by exquest

LOCAL News :: Environment : Miscellaneous : Plum Creek : Protest Activity

Plum Creek's Plan Called Trojan Horse

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