Coalition to Preserve and Grow Northern Maine
Mark Scarano and Jim Batey, Co-Chairmen
P.O. Box 944
Greenville, Maine 04441

Dear Mark and Jim:

As a member of the Coalition to Preserve and Grow Northern Maine, I wanted to thank you for your support and update you on the status of Plum Creek’s plan for our land in the Moosehead Lake Region.

In the coming year, landowners, LURC, local residents and others will make decisions about the future of the unorganized territories that will resound for generations. To succeed in preserving the character and economy of the North Woods, we must be willing to plan for the future together. As the primary landowner in the Moosehead region, Plum Creek proposed a concept plan for our land as a solution to unplanned growth - a real leap forward to an era of predictability and landowner-initiated planning in the North Woods.

As you know, we announced our initial proposal in April 2005. The goal was to strike a balance on our land between sustainable forestry, recreational access, wildlife habitat, protection of special places and economic opportunity. Many called our plan visionary, and we are grateful for the support it received. Even those who wanted major changes agreed that a plan was needed.

Since we announced our proposal, many have shared their personal vision for the Moosehead region and offered suggestions to modify the plan. We are listening. In the coming weeks, we will be creating a new plan in response to feedback from the LURC scoping sessions, conversations with many organizations, and other interested individuals. We will present our new plan in early 2006. We will work to incorporate the key messages we have heard over the past few months. Of course a single landowner can’t satisfy everyone’s vision for the region. But we hope our new plan will represent a significant step on the part of the region’s largest landowner to provide for a future that is consistent with the character and needs of the region.

Plum Creek appreciates the time and consideration so many organizations and citizens devoted to our initial plan. We hope you will gauge our new proposal on its merits and its potential as a pragmatic solution to the challenges of resource management and land use planning in the Moosehead region. In the meantime, please call me if you have any questions or concerns. Our goal is to craft a plan that reflects the perspectives of a wide range of stakeholders, while satisfying our objectives as a landowner. Your opinions, and those of your members, are critically important to that mission.

When the process is completed and our new plan is ready, I will be in touch with you again to share the details of the plan. Again, thanks for your support.

Sincerely,

James K. Lehner
General Manager
Northeast Region