Maine Debating Law To Limit Strip-And-Run Logging

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AUGUSTA — "New state rules intended to make it harder to buy, strip and quickly resell plots of timberland are a step in the right direction, but they contain too many loopholes to effectively protect Maine's woodlands, forest advocates say. Fayette forester and longtime logger Harry Dwyer calls the rules a "starting point" for cracking down on companies that "strip-mine" land for quick profit without regard for the future.

"(Right now) the rules of the game are so loose that there's no downside for just butchering land and passing costs of that onto society and the future," Dwyer said.

The Maine Forest Service is seeking feedback on proposed rules meant to substantially eliminate so-called liquidation harvesting - the practice of purchasing, clear-cutting and reselling a plot of land within five years.

EDIT

The state's proposed rules would require land owners who want to buy, cut and sell parcels within five years to do one of the following:

Harvest only 40 percent of the stand.

Create a harvest plan signed by a licensed forester.

Show a hardship that would warrant an emergency harvest."

EDIT

http://www.pressherald.com/news/statehouse/040322mining.shtml