By Cathy Johnson, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed With few places in the world still relatively untouched by development, Maine’s 10.5 million acres of North Woods are a disappearing resource. These woods rejuvenate us: They provide opportunities for hunting, fishing and recreation, and serve as vital habitat for plants and animals. That Read More
North Woods Protection & LUPC
The 10.4-million-acre Maine North Woods, which makes up nearly half of the entire state, is the largest remaining undeveloped forest in the eastern United States. The region is at risk of being lost forever, as rapid changes in ownership have brought unprecedented pressures – from development to heavy logging.
Allowing Sprawling Development Would Hurt Towns, Wildlife, and Wilderness
Bangor Daily News editorial We give the Land Use Planning Commission, which oversees zoning and development in the state’s more than 10 million acres of unorganized territories, credit for listening to public criticism of a plan to allow more scattered development in these areas. After public hearings and comments that were overwhelmingly negative, the commission Read More
Land Use Planning Commission Holds Public Hearing
Written by Rachel Mann Fox News Bangor news story BREWER- Extra chairs had to be brought in for a public hearing on a proposal that would allow development on more than a million acres of land. “The package that we’re working on is intended to do three key things,” Nick Livesay, director of the Land Use Read More
State Panel Told to Protect Maine Woods from Development Sprawl
By Bill Trotter, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story A proposal to change how development is allowed in Maine’s Unorganized Territory still is being met with some vocal opposition, despite some minor changes that a state planning body has made to the draft policy. Many of the roughly three dozen people who spoke Thursday Read More
Testimony on LUPC’s Proposed Rule Revisions: Revised Application of the Adjacency Principle & Subdivision Standards
Public Hearing on LUPC’s Proposed Rule Revisions: Revised Application of the Adjacency Principle & Subdivision Standards Testimony of Catherine B. Johnson My name is Cathy Johnson and I am the Forests and Wildlife Project Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). NRCM has over 20,000 members and supporters including people who reside in Read More
LUPC Proposal Would Forever Scar Maine’s North Woods
NRCM calls on planning agency to drop proposed changes that would harm wildlife, recreation, and local economic development NRCM news release Augusta – People from across Maine, and the state’s leading environmental advocacy group are calling on the Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) to drop a proposal that would allow widespread development on more than Read More
State Regulators Revise Restrictions on Development in Remote Areas
by Kate Cough Ellsworth American news story ELLSWORTH — The Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) offered a revised draft of its “adjacency principle” rules in late November in response to public outcry over proposed changes that were introduced this summer. The LUPC, which manages land in Maine’s unorganized territories, has long used the adjacency principle Read More
Maine’s North Woods Threatened by State Policy
The Land Use Planning Commission would open millions of acres of fragile ecosystems to development. by Rebecca Tripp, a resident of Searsport Portland Press Herald op-ed Maine’s North Woods is the largest undeveloped forest in the Eastern U.S., and it is being threatened by a proposal put forth by the Land Use Planning Commission, which Read More
Proposal would Relax State’s Restrictions on Rural Subdivisions
Maine’s Land Use Planning Commission wants to allow development within 10 miles by public road of any rural ‘hub.’ by David Sharp, The Associated Press Portland Press Herald news story The agency overseeing development in Maine’s vast wilderness is considering dramatic changes that would alter restrictions on where subdivisions and businesses can be built. The Read More
