The latest news about Maine lakes and ponds.

Plum Creek Plan Provides Hope for Moosehead Region - Orderly Growth, Land Conservation Provide Impetus for Revitalization

November 28, 2007 - The Plum Creek rezoning application, under consideration by the Land Use Regulation Commission, to rezone lands in the Moosehead Lake region provides an opportunity for the communities and residents of the region to participate in a vibrant economy.

The communities of Jackman, Rockwood and Greenville are experiencing declining populations, job losses and business closures. The lack of affordable worker housing is an impediment to population growth. These trends have led to a decline in the vibrancy of the schools and other community facilities.

These communities are in desperate need of an increase in population and jobs in order to survive as viable communities.

Somerset and Piscataquis counties, which encompass the land in the project area, are characterized by some of the lowest per capita incomes and highest unemployment rates of the 16 Maine counties.

The Plum Creek plan provides a means by which orderly, planned growth, combined with the second largest land conservation plan in United States history, will provide an impetus to revitalize the region's economy.

The plan provides conservation of, and public access to, 431,000 acres in or near the plan area. This public access is critical to the future success of the recreation- and nature-based tourism businesses that are part of the region's economy and are expected to play a major role in the region's economic growth.

In addition to the role this public access plays in the future of the tourism industry, it is equally important to the continued use of private land for traditional uses such as fishing, hunting, snowmobiling and wildlife viewing by the residents of the region and the state.

This massive land conservation aspect of the plan also will ensure that these lands are preserved for use as a working forest. The existence of a working forest is critical to the forest products industry, which includes the region's sawmills, paper mills and other wood-based manufacturers that still operate. The preservation of the lands as working forests also is important for the development of future businesses that will require wood for production, such as renewable energy products and bio-based products that may include alternatives to oil-based items such as cosmetics, plastics and other bio-based fuels.

The Plum Creek plan sets aside land near the communities of Jackman, Rockwood and Greenville for affordable worker housing.

The plan also establishes a community fund to address educational, economic and community needs of the region's communities that are unanticipated outcomes of the plan.

It provides a framework within which the Moosehead region once again can be known as a destination worthy of acclaim, which provides a world-class nature-based experience while preserving its rich heritage and protecting the natural resources that make the region unique.

While the Plum Creek plan may not be perfect, no one else has come forth with a plan that will provide hope to the communities of the Moosehead region that are facing the demise of their way of life and protect and conserve hundreds of thousands of acres in perpetuity.

Many aspects of the plan incorporate the economic development strategies of both the Somerset Economic Development Corporation and the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council, both of which support the plan.

For all of these reasons, and others, the Plum Creek Concept Plan provides hope for the communities and residents of the Moosehead Lake region.

Jim Batey is executive director of Somerset Economic Development Corp. and co-chairman of the Coalition to Preserve and Grow Northern Maine.

SOURCE: Kennebec Journal

DATE: 11-24-2007


Lakes: Moosehead Lake
Regions: Moosehead


Print this story

Email this story

return to Lake News