Fact of the Week: Plum Creek Plan – Hiking Trails
According to the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, one in five overnight visitors to Maine goes hiking, making it is the second-most popular pursuit for overnight visitors in Maine next to going to a beach.

Hiking is good for local communities because hikers often frequent local lodging and restaurant establishments, buy supplies and souvenirs at local stores, and share their positive experiences with others, encouraging more visits to the state of Maine.

Currently, hiking opportunities in the Moosehead Lake region are limited.

Plum Creek's plan will create a truly world-class peak- to-peak trail system around Moosehead Lake, including trailheads along the route to make it accessible to day-hikers and thru-hikers alike.

The trail system will also provide connections to the Appalachian Trail, the Lily Bay Road north of the State Park, and the proposed Western Mountains Foundation Trail.

Specifically, Plum Creek's plan will grant a 12-mile easement to support the section of the envisioned Maine Huts and Trails network within the plan area. This unique trail system, planned by the non-profit Western Mountains Foundation, would create a world- class hut-to-hut ski touring, biking and hiking system in the Western Mountains of Maine.

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

Burnt Jacket Application Denied by LURC
At its June meeting this week at the Penquis Higher Learning Center in Dover-Foxcroft, the Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC) denied an application by Burnt Jacket, LLC to rezone 246 acres in Beaver Cove and develop two residential subdivisions that will include 30 shorefront lots on Moosehead Lake and 40 hillside lots.

The LURC Commissioners unanimously accepted the recommendation of the LURC staff, which noted the following problems with the proposal:

It does not promote orderly growth because the proposed location of the subdivision is not adjacent to any development of similar size, scale or intensity of use;
A demonstrated need for the development has not been shown;
The location of the proposed development does not conserve and protect the natural beauty and unspoiled qualities of the natural resources;
The development would likely have an adverse impact on traditional uses, especially water recreation on the southern portion of Moosehead Lake, and on timber harvesting; and Adequate provisions have not been made to maintain the natural character of the shore land.

Burnt Jacket, LLC selectively picked the site because it was ideal for recreation and development and because it was in an organized town adjacent to Greenville, a service center community, but it appears that, based on LURC's decision, no land in Beaver Cove would meet the state's criteria for a subdivision.

Private landowners in the area are concerned that LURC has established a hurdle that can't be met in a region that is losing its population base.

LURC Looking at Growth in Remote Areas
The Land Use Regulation Commission hosted a panel discussion this week as part of a yearlong information- gathering process as LURC prepares to update the agency's comprehensive plan. LURC was seeking feedback from representatives of Piscataquis, Franklin, Somerset and Penobscot counties as well as several municipalities on how development in the Unorganized Territory affects counties and nearby towns that provide public safety, waste disposal and other services to subdivisions just outside their borders.

County and municipal governments are struggling to meet the demands of the growing number of people who choose to live in Maine's Unorganized Territory but expect to receive the same services as in-town residents.

In the past, people who built in remote areas accepted that their home or camp was likely too far from existing towns to receive trash pickup, road maintenance or a fast response from police or fire crews. But today, people are building $500,000 homes and expect the full range of services.

This growth is placing some strain on county and municipal resources and the pressure is increasing financial tensions between towns and counties. Some county officials voiced concern that some towns are charging the counties exorbitant rates to provide services to homes in the Unorganized Territory in order to reduce the costs for town residents.

LURC Commissioners will publicly revisit this issue later in the year before approving any changes to the comprehensive plan.

International Paper Selling Two Mills In Maine
International Paper has announced that it will sell coated paper mills in Jay and Bucksport for $1.4 billion to CMP Holdings LLC, part of Apollo Management, a New York-based investment firm.

Apollo Management officials do not anticipate changes to the work forces in Bucksport and in Jay at this time. The firm typically invests in a company for up to eight years before looking for a return or making major financial changes. Jay's Androscoggin Mill employs 1,000 people. The Bucksport mill employs 800 people.

Apollo Management is a privately held company run by a group of partners whose names are not public.

The company and its affiliates owns parts of United Rentals, Vail Resorts, Sirius Satellite Radio, Rent-A- Center and the plastics division of Tyco, among other entities. Apollo has managed a total of $13 billion in investments since 1990.

$2 Million for U Maine Wood Center
The University of Maine's Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center (AEWC) has received $2 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to design and develop corrosion-resistant materials for waterfront construction projects.

Materials currently used in waterfront projects all have drawbacks - steel rusts, concrete breaks up under the freeze-and-thaw cycle and wood is destroyed by ship worms – and repairing and rebuilding piers, wharves, sheet pilings and bridge abutments costs this country billions of dollars each year.

The state-of-the-art composites laboratory at the AEWC has developed a wood-plastic building material that is impervious to corrosion and that won't harm the environment. The new building material is made of recycled plastics from milk jugs and soda bottles and from recycled construction debris or sawdust from mills. It is less than half the weight of concrete, is recyclable and can be made fire-retardant. However, it is not yet strong enough for large, heavy- duty, industrial applications.

The new three-year grant, secured by U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud, will allow AEWC to continue its work. The goal is for the university to lead the development of the material and for the state to benefit by job spin-offs.

The new composite material could be showcased this fall in Greenville. Officials there want to use it to rebuild Junction Wharf, the public boat launch on the southern end of Moosehead Lake that was rebuilt 12 years ago using untreated hemlock lumber which is now deteriorating and is unsafe.

About 10 people will work on the project, including two full-time technicians and five graduate and undergraduate students.

Optimistic Outlook for State Pulp and Paper Industry
Addressing the Action Committee of 50 economic forum at Husson College's Center for Family Business last week, the director of U.S. communications and government relations for Domtar presented an optimistic outlook for Maine's pulp and paper industry but stressed that Maine's business climate needs to be stable and predictable if the state's economic future is going to be bright.

Challenges facing the state include problems with manufacturing investment because Maine has been viewed as not being business friendly. That perception has been alleviated by the Legislature's recent vote to do away with the state's tax on business equipment but it will not go away completely if politicians keep revisiting the issue.

Other challenges facing Maine's business climate include the state's tax burden, work visas for immigrant labor and the cost of health care.

A positive trend for the pulp and paper industry is that increases in catalog production, the potential for developing fuel from raw fiber and the development of specialized niche markets such as magazine subscription cards and sustainable-certified forest products.

Despite the decline in the number of manufacturing jobs in Maine, and especially in the pulp and paper industry, the industry is doing well. The productivity of the industry in Maine has increased. Over 100 years ago, the 25 mills in Maine produced a total of 350 tons of product every day. Now, though they employ fewer people than they once did, Maine mills manufacture more than 8,000 tons of product per day.

Upcoming Events of Interest
June 12th: The topic at the PCEDC Quarterly Meeting will be, “Landowners and Economic Development.” Piscataquis County’s economy is directly affected by its vast, land-based natural resources. Much of this land is privately owned by both large and small landowners.

Topics of discussion for the meeting are as follows:

What are the future prospects for forestry?
How can we best work with landowners on issues of economic development?
What are the challenges and opportunities regarding public access?
How can tourism businesses best work with landowners to access their property?

Please RSVP by June 7th to the PCEDC at (207) 564-3638.

email: info@preservegrowme.org
phone: 888-702-7466
web: http://www.preservegrowme.org