A huge, sprawling development threatens Moosehead Lake, one of Maine's wilderness gems, and has caused public outcry over its potential devastation.
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After intense public outcry and scrutiny over the absence of satisfactory conservation language in its proposal, the out-of-state real estate giant Plum Creek is going back to the drawing board. Environment Maine applauds the public's involvement to date in making permanent conservation measures a benchmark for the North Woods. Vigilance will be necessary in the coming months and years as Plum Creek makes further attempts to develop Moosehead Lake and other wilderness.
Land use plans key to North Woods protection
The fate of Moosehead Lake and Maine’s North Woods still hangs in the balance. So that the future of the North Woods is not decided on a proposal-by-proposal basis, Environment Maine is advocating special land use plans for sensitive areas within the unorganized territories and the designation of the top 10 pristine places in Maine that deserve protection. These steps will preserve our centuries-old tradition of public access, our wilderness and our sense of place.
Without an articulated vision for the North Woods, proposals like Plum Creek’s could obliterate the traditional balance between private ownership, public access, and preservation of Maine’s most special places. Already, that balance has begun to shift. In the last six years, 35 to 50 percent of Maine’s land has traded hands, sometimes millions of acres at a time. Large second homes and “wilderness kingdoms” have been carved out of formerly pristine forested land.
Some of the public’s favorite places are the same places that real estate developers have their sights on—places like Moosehead Lake, the Allagash, Flagstaff Lake and Tumbledown Mountain. No other area east of the Mississippi can boast the same unbroken woods, pristine lakes, abundant wildlife and recreational opportunities.
Moosehead planning first delayed, then co-opted
In 1997, the Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC) proposed to undertake land use planning for the future of the Moosehead Lake region. Eight years later, the LURC has yet to finish the plan for Moosehead. Responding to criticism from the public and groups like Environment Maine that the plan should be completed before the LURC considers approving development, the LURC proposed combining the planning process and the Plum Creek proposal.
Environment Maine opposes this idea. “Plum Creek should not frame the debate on the future of the Moosehead Lake region,” said Heidi Overbeck of Environment Maine. “As a real estate speculator, it seeks short-term profits at the long-term expense of Maine’s natural heritage. The bias is obvious.”
Development threatens Maine’s wilderness
Plum Creek proposes to rezone 426,000 acres around Moosehead Lake, and to immediately develop 10,000 acres. Development would include nearly 1,000 house lots, two resorts, three recreational-vehicle parks, a golf course, a marina, and more than 100 rental cabins.
This is the largest proposed development in Maine's history and could forever alter a landscape that defines Maine’s natural heritage. Moosehead Lake and the surrounding forested landscape serve as the foundation of wilderness recreation and ecotourism, which will continue to stimulate sustainable economic development in the region.
Environment Maine will continue to work to defeat this sprawling development and propose plans to protect special places in Maine’s North Woods from future development proposals.
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