From: Michael Kellett [mailto:kellett@restore.org]
What does N.B.'s forest future hold?
Maine town also facing mill troubles examines potential for national park to boost economy
By Brett Bundale
In a small mill town in the heart of the Maine's Acadian forest, the struggle between economic development and conservation is unfolding. Roxanne Quimby talks about her plans for the land she owns in the Millinocket region in Maine during a meeting at the Northern Maine Timber Cruisers snowmobile club in Millinocket. Quimby, the most vocal proponent for growing the state's parklands, has publicly offered 70,000 acres to the United States federal government for the creation of a Maine Woods National Park.
Millinocket, smack in the middle of the state with a population just over 5,000, is known for its old lush forests and rich pulp and paper history.But with its mills shuttered and workers laid off, town councillors and residents are searching for ways to revitalize the town's once grand papermaking industry while protecting its legendary old growth forests.
Some residents argue a national park could help forestall an exodus of town residents caused by the closure of the region's last paper mill in East Millinocket, which shut down in April, idling 450 workers. But opponents call the national park effort an economic disaster for northern Maine, arguing it would destroy the forest products industry and send a message that the region is closed for business. The debate continues to rage between the environment on one side and economic growth on the other. But Maine is not alone in its search for a seemingly elusive equilibrium.
New Brunswick, which once boasted a roaring pulp and paper mill in nearly every city and town, is now also struggling to make sense of the changing industry. The province's forestry sector, pummeled during the economic downturn and struggling to get back on its feet, has asked more clarity on Crown land timber objectives.
The government has responded with a task force on Crown forests, a three-person committee set to deliver its final report and recommendations this week. But on the other side of the teeter totter, New Brunswickers also want protected areas untouched by the heavy machinery of logging firms where they can hike and hunt in the pristine wilderness. For now, conservationists and industry folk in New Brunswick continue to work to find middle ground, with discussions and public meetings that pale in comparison to the colourful debates next door.
In Maine, the most vocal proponent for growing the state's parklands is conservationist and Burt's Bees cosmetics co-founder Roxanne Quimby. She has publicly offered 70,000 acres to the United States federal government for the creation of a Maine Woods National Park. Quimby and her supporters say a national park would provide a steady revenue stream and attract tourism dollars to the region, which boasts the state's tallest mountain, Mount Katahdin, and largest lake, Moosehead Lake.
But a handful of town councillors predict that a national park would destroy access to lands that have been open to recreation and industry for generations. Turning working forests into a park would be another blow to the region's battered economy and do nothing to address the high unemployment rate, councillors say. They question whether the National Park Service can properly manage the existing parks in Maine, given its maintenance budgets are already billions of dollars in the red. It's a controversial debate, one much more impassioned than the quiet and deliberate discussions being held in Upper Miramichi.
The rural community, which incorporated two years ago, takes in 16 communities including Boiestown, Astle and Bloomfield. "When you look at our region on the map it's the whole centre of the province," Mayor Scott Clowater says, noting that the region's 1,840 square kilometres (1,143 square miles) of land is 60 per cent Crown forest. "We'd liked to see it managed the way we see fit using non-timber forest products to grow our economy," he says.
Community forestry, like the concept of turning thousands of acres into a national park, is not new. Tracy Glynn of Conservation Council of New Brunswick says the idea of de-centralizing control over public lands has already been put to work in British Columbia and Quebec. "It's about communities taking control of local forest resources," she says. "It's up to them to decide what is best for their community."
The Upper Miramichi is working with the conservation council to develop maps of the region with information such as municipal boundaries and forest density and location. Sarah Carson-Pond, economic development officer with the Upper Miramichi, says there are a number of non-timber products the rural community is looking into developing, such as fiddleheads, syrups, teas, berries, nuts and balsam fir tips for wreath making.
Although more research is needed to understand how to harvest these products sustainably to minimize the ecological footprint, she says these products have the potential to create jobs in the area and generate revenues. Mayor Clowater says he'll be meeting with provincial officials in the coming weeks in hopes of obtaining permission for the community to manage 12,000 hectares of Crown forests. "We'd have to hire a forester and a manager and still cut some wood to pay for that, but it would be managed differently," he says. "There would be more value-added products."
Although Clowater says turning the entire area into a park or protected area, such as being considered in Millinocket, Maine, is not part of the community's plan, eco-tourism and recreational opportunities are being researched.
Roland Michaud, president of the New Brunswick Wildlife Federation, supports the idea being floated in Maine of increasing the amount of protected parks and recreation areas. "A lot of the older generation just can't see any way of making money from these forests without logging them," he says. "But that is where we're missing the boat. "There is literally millions of dollars up in the air every year for eco-tourism that we could be cashing in on," he says. "The traditional forestry industry will always have a place in New Brunswick and Maine, but it's time we get ahead of the curve and take advantage of the demand for outdoor activities and outback adventures."
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