Fact of the Week: Plum Creek Timber Company Plan - Regulatory Review
Plum Creek's concept plan for its lands in the Moosehead Lake region falls under the jurisdiction of Maine's Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC), which has statutory authority over all planning and zoning decisions in rural, unorganized parts of the state.

Although other governmental agencies, such as Maine's Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, will be involved in the review of the concept plan, LURC is the principal agency charged with reviewing and ultimately approving the plan.

LURC's Comprehensive Land Use Plan encourages large landowners such as Plum Creek to submit long- term plans that outline a comprehensive growth approach to development and conservation, particularly for those lands located along the inner fringe of LURC's jurisdiction.

Plum Creek is responding to that call by asking LURC to rezone their land into a P-RP (Protection Resource Plan) sub-district, a mechanism established by the Commission's Comprehensive Land Use Plan that enables landowners to develop their own concept plan for their land, subject to LURC's approval.

This type of planning benefits both the landowner and the public by providing both groups a measure of predictability in places such as Moosehead Lake, where development pressures are most intense.

In this case, Plum Creek is given the flexibility to maximize the value of their working forestlands; and the public is given an historic opportunity to permanently protect more than 360,000 acres of private land surrounding one of Maine's top tourism destinations.

The plan also formalizes the long-standing tradition of allowing public access on Plum Creek lands.

Plum Creek Plan Website
Please check out a website dedicated to providing information about the revised Plum Creek plan.

Projects Sought in Piscataquis County
Piscataquis County Commissioners may consider another countywide bond referendum if there are enough economic development projects that would benefit the county.

Piscataquis County has the authority to borrow for economic development purposes if residents support the projects in a countywide referendum vote and municipal officials were asked recently to submit a list of projects that could be considered during the general election in November. The commissioners expect to review the list in early June to determine if a borrowing proposal is feasible.

In 2004, residents narrowly defeated a ballot question to issue general obligation bonds, or notes, in the county's name for up to $952,000 for economic development projects in Greenville, Milo and Dover- Foxcroft. Those funds would have helped provide capital for a water main extension and three industrial parks.

Projects that can be considered under the bond package include the development of new sites for new or expanded industries and business; construction or financing for the development of new community industrial buildings; the redevelopment of existing buildings for commercial, industrial or mixed use; construction, financing or operating assistance to necessary publicly owned transportation facilities; and matching funds for any state or federal transportation project or grant.

Atlantica Trading Region
Maine is in the middle of a trading corridor that's home to more than 20 million people stretching from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Buffalo, N.Y.

Maine once traded heavily with its Canadian neighbors in southeastern Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. If business leaders on both sides of the border reestablish and expand these historic connections, the region could flourish in the 21st century as a commercial and transportation gateway for trade between North America and Europe.

This is the objective of Reaching Atlantica, a business conference set for June in Saint John, New Brunswick where business leaders and government members from the four Atlantic provinces and northeast United States will focus their attention on tourism, transportation and energy issues.

“Atlantica” is the name given to this trading region, which includes the three northern New England states and 23 international border crossings.

Despite a lack of direct air service and substandard east-west roadways, Canada is Maine's dominant international trading partner, buying $900 million of Maine goods last year. Much of Maine's exports were forest products, blueberries and fish. Roughly a third of the business was done with New Brunswick. Canadians sent forest products, potatoes and energy to Maine, in the form of natural gas, gasoline and electricity. Today, all container ships docking in Portland come from Halifax and much of the gasoline consumed in the area is refined in Saint John.

Conference attendees will focus on a handful of specific steps – such as creating uniform weight limits in Maine and New Brunswick - that could advance the vision of Atlantica.

TABOR On The Ballot
The Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) will be on the ballot in November after the Maine Supreme Judicial Court overturned a Superior Court ruling that found that the secretary of state erred when he accepted signed petitions beyond a deadline set by the Legislature.

If enacted, TABOR would place strict limits on state and local government spending and require a two- thirds vote and referendum to exceed the limit or to raise taxes and fees.

Groups opposed to TABOR, including the Maine Municipal Association, the Maine Education Association and the Maine Children's Alliance, attacked TABOR as bad public policy. TABOR would impose inflexible, permanent and crippling cuts to essential services in communities across our state. Governor Baldacci and the majority of Democratic state lawmakers also oppose TABOR.

The Republican Party recently included TABOR as part of its party platform.

The referendum question will read, “Do you want to limit increases in state and local government spending to the rate of inflation plus population growth and to require voter approval for all tax and fee increases?”

New ATV Regulations
All-terrain vehicle operators who trespass or drive recklessly face tougher penalties under a new law that fine-tunes major ATV regulations enacted two years ago.

With the proliferation of trail users - Maine went from 23,000 registered ATVs in 1994 to 66,000 in 2004 - the Legislature in 2004 passed a law that raised registration fees and set limits on where and when ATVs can be used. In addition, licenses and permits issued by the fish and game department for operating an ATV on temporarily closed trails or on private property without permission can be suspended.

The new law says suspensions must last for at least 90 days and also includes some mandatory penalties. The game department must now suspend for at least a year all fish and game licenses, permits and registrations for ATV violations that involve property damage, operating under the influence if the driver is under 21 years of age, operating an ATV recklessly or to endanger, or failing to stop for an officer.

The law extends the maximum distances an ATV can travel on a public road in order to cross from 300 to 500 yards.

The law creates four part-time positions in the Department of Conservation to help with ATV club and trail development and landowner communications.

The legislation was submitted by the ATV Trail Advisory Council, whose participants include ATV users, landowners, municipal and state officials and environmental group members.

Fraser Paper Mills Recognized For Safety Efforts
Two Fraser Papers sawmills at Ashland and Masardis were recognized this week by the Maine Department of Labor for their efforts in providing a safe work environment.

Fraser Timber of Masardis and Ashland are the first sawmills in Maine to receive the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration's SHARP Award. In 10 years, the sawmills decreased their workers' compensation costs by 90%, from $1.3 million a year to roughly $250,000.

Accident rates in these mills have dropped to one of the lowest in the industry. Ten years ago, the two mills were on an OSHA Top 200 (number 95) list for having the worst safety record. Today, they are No. 1 in Maine for employee safety. Their accident rate has dropped as low as 0.63 accidents per 100 employees.

The two mills have 300 employees. Combined, the two mills have three sawmills, three planing mills and a jointer mill in operation.

The mills established the reduction of injuries through intervention and machine guarding as a strategic goal. Each mill had two health consultations and a safety consultation with state officials during the program. Ashland also had on-site training for employees.

OSHA's SHARP program is a voluntary effort for small business in high-risk industries. The program challenges workplaces to develop safety and health programs that reduce the number of injuries and accidents in the workplace by increasing awareness.

Upcoming Events of Interest
May 19th: Rally for the Maine Mountain Heritage Area at the University of Maine at Farmington from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The rally will focus on pilot projects aimed at the economic development of the four-county region that stretches from the New Hampshire border to Mount Katahdin. Pilot projects include an information center on U.S. Route 201 in Solon, walking tours in Farmington and Skowhegan and the Run of the River project in Skowhegan. Those and other plans promoting the state's inland tourism potential will be part of a traveling exhibit to begin this summer in the region. Those planning to attend the May 19 event at UMF are asked to register. Forms are available on line at www.mainemountains.org or by calling 778-3885. To learn more about the Network, please go to www.mainemountains.org. To learn more about nationally designated heritage areas, go to www.cr.nps.gov/heritageareas.

May 26th: The Composite Technology Center is hosting a discussion by its Executive Director, Gordon Davis, entitled, “How the Composite Technology Centers Can Help You Grow Your New Technology or Wood Based Venture” on Friday May 26th from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Greenville Business Incubator Building at 76 Spruce Street in Greenville. The cost is $12.00 (payable the day of the seminar), $5.00 for students. Lunch is provided. Pre-registration is encouraged but not required. To pre-register contact Cindy Hanscom at the Greenville Town Office at 207-695-2421 or Cindy@GreenvilleME.com.

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