Issue date: 12/10/07 Section: Soap Box

I am concerned about the impact of 400,000 acres of forested land for commercial development in the Moosehead Lake region, which is currently zoned for logging and primitive camping. Plum Creek wants to develop 20,500 acres of land into house lots and resorts. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries recently said the development "... will forever change the characteristics of the region." The Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service also recently expressed concern over the proposed development. Plum Creek is the largest private landowner in the country, is simply concerned about lining it's pockets and has the worst record in the state for violating forestry laws.

I am from Down East Maine and have spent quite a bit of time in the Moosehead region. I have enjoyed ice fishing, skiing and canoeing around Moosehead. My favorite thing about Moosehead Lake is the feeling of remoteness it brings. A year and a half ago, I paddled the entirety of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail.

All the things that we loved about this area will be compromised by the development. Wildlife will become sparser, public camping areas will be more crowded or taken over by development, motor boats will race up and down the lakes and the shores of these lakes will be crowded with summer homes.

The character of this region and our state needs to be preserved. Please write a letter to the Land Use Regulation Commission and express your concern about the proposed development. You can write to them at:

Land Use Regulation Commission

Attn: Catherine Caroll, Director

22 State House Station

Augusta, ME 04333



Tom Perkins, a concerned Maine citizen.

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