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Selectmen Updated on Plum Creek Project Provisions

November 28, 2007 - GREENVILLE -- Luke Muzzy has heard the statement over and over again from people who, he says, have little understanding of life in the Moosehead Lake region.

"People paint this region as a pristine, untouched wilderness, when it isn't," Muzzy, a Greenville native and Plum Creek Timber Co.'s senior land asset manager, said Wednesday during a selectmen's meeting. For 200 years, the woodlands in the region have been a working forest that also serves tourism. The two industries have worked hand-in-hand for years, he said.

Muzzy appeared Wednesday before the board to update it on the changes made in Plum Creek Timber Co.'s proposed plan to develop 975 residential lots in the Greenville, Rockwood and Jackman areas and to set aside land for the construction of two major resorts. Plum Creek will not construct the resorts, but will offer the land to someone to develop the property.

For that to occur, the company must first get permission from the Land Use Regulation Commission to rezone approximately 400,000 acres for development. If the zone change is approved after public hearings next month, Plum Creek has agreed to permanently protect from development a similar number of forested acres through land sales, donations and conservation easements as an offset to the development.Even with permission to rezone, Muzzy said the company would be required to go through a full review for each development.

"I'm very impressed with the changes," board leader Bonnie DuBien said Wednesday.

Muzzy told selectmen the company has been open and has worked collaboratively with all interested parties to ensure the development is done in an organized manner. He noted the company had revised its application to address concerns raised.

"So much happens these days without a plan," Muzzy said. He said the company's plan, which embraces the working forest and tourism, could become a model for the country. "We, the public, always used the land like it's ours and that will continue under this plan."

To those people who say Plum Creek is trying to change the character of the region, Muzzy points to the young families leaving the area for lack of jobs. "That's the character you are losing," he said. "The trees and beauty are important, but we have to keep in mind the people who live here."

Muzzy said the proposed development will create jobs. It also will create affordable housing for those families who come to the area to take the jobs, he said. The company is donating 100 acres for the housing and offering a loan to make it happen, he said.

Plum Creek's property is unique in that it surrounds three towns, plus unorganized territory including Rockwood, all of which are dependent on the land base. "We got to look out for people who live up here," he said.

If Plum Creek's request is not approved, Selectman Alan McBrierty wondered what the future might hold for the land. "That's scary," he said.

McBrierty and Muzzy both noted it was very important for Moosehead Lake region residents to attend the public hearings, whether they support the plan or not, so their voices are heard.

"It gives them a voice in the future of the Moosehead Lake region," Muzzy said.

The public hearings are scheduled as follows: Saturday, Dec. 1, in Greenville; Sunday, Dec. 2, in Augusta; Saturday, Dec. 15, in Portland; and Sunday, Dec. 16, in Greenville.

SOURCE: Bangor Daily News

DATE: 11-23-2007


Lakes: Moosehead Lake
Regions: Moosehead


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