By Christopher Cousins, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage has reversed his earlier stance and will allow the Land for Maine’s Future program to use $2.2 million in cash it has on hand to fund conservation projects. However, LePage will continue to block the issuance of $11.5 million Read More
Governor Paul LePage
Attorney General Mills Questions LePage Plan to Divert Timber Revenue
Gov. Paul LePage wants to harvest more timber on state-owned land to pay for a home heating assistance program, but he has angered others by linking the issue to the Land for Maine’s Future program. By Kevin Miller, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story AUGUSTA — Attorney General Janet Mills said a LePage administration Read More
Attorney General: LePage Probably Can’t Use Timber Harvest Profits to Pay for Heating Assistance
by A.J. Higgins MPBN news story AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine Attorney General Janet Mills is casting doubt on plans by Gov. Paul LePage to use revenues from timber harvesting on public lands to pay for heating assistance for the poor. Citing past court opinions and restrictions in the Maine Constitution, Mills says the governor’s plan Read More
Maine People Tell Governor: You’re Wrong!
By George Smith Bangor Daily News column It is time for the Governor to realize he isn’t going to get his wish of diverting funding away from Maine’s public lands, and do the right thing: release those Land for Maine’s Future Bonds. Maine people strongly agree on this, and an opinion issued yesterday by Janet Read More
My Walkabout at Dodge Point
Dodge Point Public Reserved Land is a 520-acre property located on the Damariscotta River in Newcastle, just a few miles south on the River Road from downtown Damariscotta. Previously an award-winning tree farm, the property was purchased by the State in 1989, with funds from Land for Maine’s Future bonds, and the Damariscotta River Association Read More
Conservation Projects, Big and Small, Would Benefit from Predictable Funding
By The BDN Editorial Board Bangor Daily News editorial The Land for Maine’s Future program has been in the spotlight in Maine because Gov. Paul LePage refuses to let the popular land conservation program work. In Washington, another important land preservation tool, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, is in jeopardy. Authorization for the program Read More
Public Lands About Much More Than Cutting Trees
By Jenn Burns Gray, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed Over the past few months, the revenue generated from the timber harvest on Maine’s public lands has been in the spotlight. The Bangor Daily News published an editorial Sept. 25 that highlights the numerous problems with Gov. Paul LePage’s plan to increase timber Read More
Reason, Science and the Law: Where LePage’s Public Forest Plans Fall Short
By The BDN Editorial Board Bangor Daily News editorial Gov. Paul LePage says he’s giving up on the Legislature, but there’s no indication he’s backing down from his effort to cut more wood from the state’s public lands and set aside the revenue so rural, low-income households can afford to upgrade to lower cost heating Read More
Diverse Leaders Call for Strong Efficiency Plan to Maximize Energy Savings
Efficiency Maine Trust seeks input on 3-year plan that will go to PUC NRCM News Release Augusta, ME – Today, as the Efficiency Maine Trust is holding a public input session, a diverse group of experts called on Efficiency Maine and the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to develop and approve, respectively, a strong three-year Read More
