the northern woods of maine

[luckyleftyme2]

their is quite a bit of controversy over the status of the maine woods; and believe me our Forrest's are not under harvested!
Roxanne Quimby’s inflammatory descriptions of Maine and the Katahdin region quoted in a recent interview with Forbes will erode some of the soft support she was winning for her plan to establish a North Woods National Park. But those comments, however impolitic, should not change the task at hand for regional and state leaders.

Their task is to evaluate the benefits of a park for Maine and the local economy. They should not be swayed if the woman behind the push for the park — and with the money and land holdings to make it possible — is offensive in her views and comments.

And to be fair, some of what Ms. Quimby said was accurate. Maine does have an aging population, the oldest in the country. Its population does have a problem with obesity. And its rural economy holds limited opportunity for entrepreneurs and skilled and educated workers.

Many in the Katahdin region make ends meet by cobbling together seasonal work in resource-based industries. Many rely on government assistance programs. That’s why Ms. Quimby has focused primarily on the economic benefits of a national park as opposed to touting the conservation coup that would come from protecting the forest from harvest and development.

Ms. Quimby’s view of the forest products industry is less accurate, though.

She told Forbes the “tight-knit group of industry people who own, manage and call the shots over ten million acres of land” in the region have over-harvested trees “to the point where the mills in the area have been unable to stay competitive.” That assertion doesn’t ring true with recent a study that showed the state’s forests are actually under harvested. It also glosses over the complex global market dynamics that affect the paper and lumber businesses.



when I read this last paragraph it left no doubt in my mind how this person makes their money(knows Which political side his bread is buttered on)
the reason I am posting this is I know much of Maine's rural woodlands,being a surveyor much of my life (17-45) I had the opportunity to travel an live in most of maine. also being an avid outdoors man I fished and hunted state wide.
when I see one pompous right winger who made a living stripping woodlands I know he is painting a rose out of a weed! travel the stud mill road,reality road the ip road etc. see the scars of over cutting-the scrub growth growing back,the stunted replants that failed!
One thing the lady said was our forest has been over cut to the point that many lumber mills and paper mills have failed or will fail for lack of product. hmmm seems for the last few years many lumber mills have shut down and several paper mills including the jewel of the region she was talking about "great northern" so when you read this article take that into consideration and you will see the gloss job trying to bury the facts.
yes we got a lot of land but dam few marketable trees! some of these areas have been cut for fifty years and it will be another fifty before they will be when they were last cut.

[luckyleftyme2]

1. and by the way

I walked much of the survey line before the haul road was built so I remember what it looked like before it was cut-and how barren it looked after!

[luckyleftyme2]

2. the pressure is on!

channel six is running a piece about Quimby appologizing to the people of milty-kockett; the forestry industry has led a campaign to stop her "national park " idea. this is not why I posted this article instead it is about the over cutting and clear cutting practices in the past for the almighty dollar (which most of these dollars did not stay in the state)
we all know that the grat northern mills are just in the process of re-opening but many do not know of the many the lumber mills and other paper companies that have closed or changed hands in maine over the past 30 years. the reason they lost their compeitive edge,because they clear cut and shipped their future out of state.

Fraser Papers optimistic about launch of new company

BDN
David Dockham of Houlton stacks pine lumber at Fraser Papers' Ashland sawmill last week. Dockham, who car-pools with his uncle and cousin to work every day, was laid off in the wake of the mill's four-month shutdown along with his two relatives. Some of the remaining 200-plus employees will be transferred to other area mills. Dockman said he plans to collect unemployment and return to school. BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY BRIDGET BROWN Buy Photo
By Nick Sambides Jr., BDN Staff
Posted Feb. 25, 2010, at 8:10 p.m. With its emergence from bankruptcy protection imminent, Fraser Papers expects to launch its new company shortly and plans for it to be among the world’s best papermakers, one of its top executives said Thursday.

Temporarily called Newco, the new company will emerge from the debris of Fraser with a strong balance sheet, modest debt, an already-profitable specialty papers mill in Madawaska and a solid backlog of orders, President and Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Dutton said.

The Madawaska operation “is not where it needs to be, but it’s profitable,” Dutton said in a telephone interview. “We have a ways to go, but we have made good progress and we think it’s well positioned.”

A tentative agreement between Fraser and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union Wednesday will allow Fraser to shed much of about $185 million in pension obligations at its Canadian properties to form the new company. Also, New Brunswick’s government dissolved credit letters held by the region’s public utility to free more than $20 million for Newco.

Those deals and a Madawaska United Steelworkers union agreement, which freed Fraser from $6 million in annual pension liabilities and included an immediate 8.5 percent wage cut, saved as many as 2,000 jobs in the St. John Valley and New Brunswick.

The only potential hurdle remaining to Newco’s birth is approval of the tentative deal by the CEP’s Edmundston chapter. That vote is required by March 10, Dutton said. A positive outcome is not guaranteed, but union members are expected to follow their national leaders’ endorsement.

as you can see cutting wages is not a sign of a healthy industry! but addressing a lie is not expensive- our woods are far from a 100% marketable! an never will be unless we protect them!

[luckyleftyme2]

3. here is a little more on the health of our woodlands

you can use your computer to find out the health of our woodlands in the country or in maine. you will find that the paper mills and woodland industry is far from 100%. the reason is over cutting and it continues!

"Thirty million acres of forestland have changed hands since 1996, says Michael
Goergen, executive vice president of the Society of American Foresters. Another 12 to 15
million will transfer out of industry ownership in the next decade. That's over half the
approximately 80 million acres timber companies nationwide owned during the 20th
century. By 2015, analysts predict, they will have sold a forested area as large as New
England...
Transferring the ownership of this much forestland would have major implications under
any circumstances, but under the current trend the implications are staggering. Financial
institutions dominate the buyers: timberland investment management organizations
(TIMOs), real estate investment trusts (REITs), limited liability and master limited
partnerships. TIMOs alone have bought over a third of the 30 million acres of private
industrial forests already sold, says Goergen. Another 5 million acres belong to various
other financial institutions." (American Forests, Autum 2005)1
"A recent U.S. Forest Service study predicted that more than 44 million acres of private
forest land, an area twice the size of Maine, will be sold over the next 25 years. The
consulting firm U.S. Forest Capital estimates that half of all U.S. timberland has changed
hands in the past decade." (Washington Post, March 24, 2006)2
The relocation of wood and paper manufacturing facilities, the transfer of timberland ownership
and management to non-manufacturing institutions, and the conversion of timberland to other
uses are complex phenomena influenced by many factors, including the cost of land ownership,
the cost of building operating manufacturing facilities, the supply and demand for wood fiber, and
evolving corporate structure and tax laws.
Tax benefits for traditional timber companies have included:
• routine disposition of timber is taxed as capital gain (which has lower tax than other income)
• gains from sales of timber can be offset by the maximum allowance for depletion
• sellers of timberlands have a low tax basis in their properties in relation to current values
But there are additional benefits to be had from certain corporate structures, including limited
partnerships, limited liability companies, real estate investment trusts, and timberland investment
management organizations.
Timberland acquisitions often come with strings attached. For example:
• After buying 538,000 acres in Arkansas and Louisiana, PC agreed to supply the seller,
Riverwood International, with chips to make paper pulp for 20 years.
• Plum Creek bought timberland in Maine from Sappi, but agreed to supply Sappi's paper mill
in Skowhegan for 40 years.
• Same in Michigan: Plum Creek bought 650,000 acres from NewPage Escanaba, but will
supply Escanaba's paper mills.
as you can see some of our mills have even sold off their woodlands and the wood chips are being supplied by the new owner(plum creek in maine is one of these new companies in maine)
this new era of the woodland industry bears watching by every mainer who loves the outdoors. It is pretty easy to gloss over the true facts with a couple of arm twisting tv bytes or a public relations blitz!
get out and look you can't miss the pucker brush and scars of over cutting!

[luckyleftyme2]

4. here,s another huckster

"Alas, they have forgotten the MAGIC era when area towns were taken in by fraud after fraud. This too is a fraud !"

If you didn't know the occupation of some of these bloggers you might be swayed but their personnel motives are keeping the cutting practices in place!

I happen to know this man has been involved in several cutting operations that will take years to heal their scars!
and within a 50 mile radius of this man's house you will find several cut over areas that will never in my lifetime or my children's lifetime be half the wooded area it was in 1980!
Ilived in lincoln during the late 60's and early 70's -I hunted burlington,lee,nicatous,sysladsobis,mattawamkeg,greenbush and lagrange just to mention a few of these scars that was left behind by the greedy and over the protest of the older foresters and paper makers that were over run by the than know it alls!
I'm sure this man is also aware of rte#1 being shut down by the indians because of the overloaded logging trucks that were hauling over rte#6 and rte#1 in topsfield Waite area
that made the road nearly impassable!it made all the papers in maine and tv stas.
hmmm of course the loggers are going to join the money grubbers to keep the saws cutting!

[luckyleftyme2]

5. here is another view -an I like it

"I am just now sorting through the facts of this issue and would appreciate some enlightenment. Specifically I would like to know what evidence there is that the North Woods timber industry will continue to be a viable economic resource. I have some knowledge of both Wagner and Plumb Creek's business practices and I am having a difficult time believing that their board of directors cares, any more than Quimby, what happens to those living in rural Maine.

Is there a deeded covenant or specific legislation that will prevent any of the BRIC nations from purchasing Maine land and closing it? Can more people like Quimby step forward and buy the land and also close it?"
well your at least thinking! no there is no guarantee. like the farmer who post his land,the huge land owner has the same right.
what right does say a small in town land owner have to post his property,a business or any entity if every land owner doesn't have this right? you can't block john doe access to his property if he has a deeded right away across your property but you can keep joe blow off of that right away!
My question would be what if plum creek or some other owner goes belly up? will he still honor the wood chips to the paper mill,will the paper mills rights be protected? probably
they would have to protect their interest in court.
one thing is for sure JOHN Q PUBLIC doesn't want government telling him what to do with his property but he wants to tell quimby what she can do with hers!
that ought to stir the pot-but it is a fact!