NRCM is always pleased to see conservation easements in Maine’s North Woods. This easement prohibits further residential development and guarantees public access forever. NRCM remains concerned about the size and location of the Plum Creek development, particularly on Lily Bay. Plum Creek’s 2,000 units around beautiful Moosehead Lake, including three resorts, is the largest development Read More
Plum Creek's Massive Moosehead Proposal
In April 2005, Seattle-based Plum Creek submitted a development proposal for the Moosehead Lake region that was the largest development ever proposed in Maine. The company’s proposal called for 975 house lots, 2 resorts, a golf course, a marina, 3 RV parks—with convenience stores, beauty salons, and gas stations—and more than 100 rental cabins, right in the heart of Maine’s spectacular Moosehead Lake region.
NRCM was the first organization to oppose this plan, which, in addition to too much development in the wrong places, proposed no additional permanent conservation. NRCM spoke out, and so did the people of Maine, including residents of the Moosehead region. As a result of NRCM’s work, the Plum Creek plan was improved — less sprawling, with much improved required conservation measures, and with proposed development removed from remote ponds and other areas.
Maine Supreme Court’s Decision on Plum Creek’s Moosehead Lake Development Rezoning
by Lisa Pohlmann, NRCM CEO We are disappointed in today’s decision about Plum Creek’s development proposal on lands around Moosehead Lake. We respect the court’s decision. Through the active engagement of thousands of Maine people the final plan was significantly improved from the original plan, though it remains the largest development plan in the state’s Read More
Plum Creek Development Gets OK from Supreme Court
by Kevin Miller, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story PORTLAND, Maine—Maine’s highest court on Thursday ruled that state regulators followed proper procedures when approving Plum Creek’s historic development plan for the Moosehead Lake region. The state supreme court disagreed with a lower court that had ordered the Land Use Regulation Commission to hold additional Read More
Supreme Court Justices Maintain Poker Faces on Plum Creek Development Plan
by Kevin Miller Bangor Daily News news story PORTLAND, Maine — Justices with Maine’s highest court offered few clues Tuesday on where they stand on the complicated legal and regulatory battle over Plum Creek’s controversial rezoning proposal for nearly 1,000 houses and two resorts near Moosehead Lake. Attorneys on both sides were given roughly 15 Read More
Weathering the Storm and a Dip in the Icy Atlantic
Having survived (can I say “enjoyed?”) NRCM’s New Year’s Eve day Polar Bear Dip & Dash and welcoming in the New Year with a sunrise walk with the dog through the Spurwink Marsh, I feel like I am entering 2012 with a good reserve of energy and optimism. Looks like we will all need lots of both. Before Read More
A Better Plan for Moosehead Lake is Possible
Bangor Daily News op-ed In a victory for democracy, a Maine Superior Court judge recently sent Plum Creek’s massive development proposal for Maine’s Moosehead Lake region back to the Land Use Regulation Commission and provided the opportunity to work on a better plan. Seattle-based Plum Creek, a Real Estate Investment Trust and the largest private Read More
A Better Plum Creek Project
Bangor Daily News editorial A Superior Court ruling sending Plum Creek’s controversial Moosehead Lake development project back to regulators offers a fresh opportunity to improve the plan. The Land Use Regulation Commission must ignore the loud and competing voices and help Plum Creek see the need to present a smaller, more environmentally sensitive proposal. Failing Read More
Judge Puts Plum Creek on Hold
A Superior Court ruling faults LURC commissioners and reorders hearings to reopen. by The Associated Press Portland Press Herald news story PORTLAND — A state judge on Thursday put a stop to Plum Creek Timber Co.’s sprawling resort and residential development in the Moosehead Lake region, citing missteps by the regulatory agency that gave approval Read More
Maine Judge Throws Out LURC’s Approval of Plum Creek Development
by Keith Shortill MPBN radio news story A Maine judge has rejected the state’s zoning approval of Plum Creek Timber Co.’s sprawling resort and residential development at the gateway to Maine’s north woods near Moosehead Lake. The superior Court judge agreed with several environmental groups, which claimed that the process used by the Land Use Read More
