(Environmental) Groups aim to protect Lily Bay (from development, Moosehead Lake, Maine)

[jpak]

http://bangornews.com/news/t/city.aspx?articleid=165603&zoneid=176

BANGOR, Maine - Two influential conservation groups pleaded Thursday with state regulators to alter Plum Creek Timber Co.’s ambitious plans for the Moosehead Lake region and keep the Lily Bay peninsula free from development.

Click here to view a larger image of the Plum Creek concept plan

The Natural Resources Council of Maine and Maine Audubon called on the Land Use Regulation Commission to block development of about 400 houses on the eastern and more wild side of Moosehead Lake. In return, the two groups said they would give back 33,500 acres on the lake’s western side that originally had been slated for conservation.

"It’s clear that the people of Maine don’t want 400 houses on Lily Bay," NRCM Executive Director Brownie Carson said Thursday afternoon at an announcement in Bangor. The groups also held a similar event in Falmouth earlier in the day. "LURC holds the future of this region in their hands."

Maine Audubon Executive Director Kevin Carley added, "The message is simple: Plum Creek does not belong on the Lily Bay peninsula."

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