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By Kevin Miller, BDN Staff
HOLDEN, Maine — Maine’s conservation commissioner said Wednesday that he believes state government and the diverse groups invested in the future of Maine’s vast natural resources can do a better job balancing preservation and economic development by focusing on their mutually agreed upon goals.
“Maybe opposites do attract,” said Bill Beardsley, commissioner of the Maine Department of Conservation. “Maybe there is more opportunity there than we think there is.”
Read full story on BangorDailyNews.com
By American Loggers Council President – Steve Sherich
It is my privilege to be serving as the current President of the American Loggers Council, a duty which I do not take lightly. During my term, we will continue the tradition of all of our past presidents to make certain that we are doing all that we can do to make this industry as strong as it can be.
The American Loggers Council is made up of both state and regional timber harvesting organizations, many who have struggled during this economic downturn. If not for the work that these associations are doing for their members, we would hate to think where we, as logging professionals, might be today.
State Associations have numerous values. Every year, they monitor legislation and work to ensure that bills are either passed or defeated that would impact our profitability. State associations help provide us with our first aid, best management practices and OSHA training at a minimal cost. So much of what the state associations accomplish is through the efforts of volunteers and management. The same is true with a national organization.
We have found that the larger the organization, the stronger and more effective it becomes with outreach to our representatives in Congress. Hundreds of voices are better heard than one, and if you are not a member of your State logging Association you should join. If your state does not have an organization, then you should help to form one. There is not a whole lot of difference between taking a welfare check for not working and reaping the benefits from your State Association without joining.
The health of State Associations will determine the strength of the American Loggers Council.
The more opportunities that we take to support our state associations, the better position they are in to support the ALC. The American Loggers Council is here to help all of us stay in business and provide a unified national voice for professional loggers. If your state is not contributing to the organization, then others are carrying the load for you. We ask that you please consider carrying your fair share of the load to make certain that all of our voices are heard in Washington, D.C.
Just one of the many issues that we are currently involved in is helping to pass legislation that would address the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that could eventually lead to all of us having to obtain National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) before hauling our products over a forest road. If not addressed, this one ruling alone could lead to undetermined costs and citizen’s lawsuits against our operations.
I believe that everyone should volunteer for something. What better way than to volunteer for the industry that you work in? Nothing bothers me more than those that complain about how their dues are being spent, but never show up to make recommendations. I challenge you to volunteer this year and become an advocate for our industry. The states and the ALC need your support.
Steve Sherich is the President of the American Loggers Council, which represents logging professionals in 30 States. Steve’s logging operation is based in Hayden Lake, Idaho. For more information please contact the American Loggers Council at 409-625-0206 or e-mail at americanlogger@aol.com.
By Cheryl H. Russell, Special to the BDN
The noose is getting tighter. I attended the recent meeting in Millinocket where I listened to Roxanne Quimby extol the virtues of a Maine Woods or North Woods National Park. Mayors from Estes Park and Grand Lake, Colo., were part of a three-hour show like no other I have attended.
The wolf is at the door, speaking economic growth to an audience that wants desperately to have some hope. It’s time for people of good sense to not get lulled into thinking that a federal park is going to provide jobs. It’s time for us to oppose federal zoning in the Maine woods.
Quimby said by the year 2016, the centennial anniversary of the National Park Service, it is her goal to have another national park in Maine, a park that would be nearly twice the size of Acadia National Park. She said she has put aside $20 million and plans to raise another $20 million as an endowment for park maintenance, which she estimates at a 5 percent rate of return could provide $2 million annually to fund park maintenance. Even bad schemes have great talking points.
Read full column on BangorDailyNews.com
By Nick Sambides Jr., BDN Staff
MILLINOCKET, Maine — The Katahdin Area Chamber of Commerce supports a study of the feasibility of creating a national park near Baxter State Park, its president said Wednesday.
With members Deb Roundtree and Thomas Malcolm absent, the Chamber’s board of directors voted 9-0 on Tuesday to support the study, which board members recommended concentrate on three basic areas, President Chip Lamson said.
The vote came less than 24 hours after noted environmentalist and Burt’s Bees founder Roxanne Quimby spoke of her plan for a national park to about 200 residents during a meeting at Stearns High School.
Read full story on BangorDailyNews.com
Tthe Ninth Circuit Court of appeals has decided to deny an en banc review of the NRDC vs. Brown decision which in essence classifies logging roads as point source for pollutants as well as logging operations as an industrial activity. This action will lead to the requirement of NPDES permits for construction and use of forest roads when surface runoff from silvicultural activities (including logging) is channeled thru a ditch, culvert or any other form of road structure that is not considered natural drainage.
This ruling could eventually impact logging roads not just within the Ninth Circuit’s jurisdiction, but nationwide, on both federal and private lands.
Click Here to read the decision (9th Circuit Court of Appeals website)
AUGUSTA — The Maine Forest Service (MFS), under the Maine Department of Conservation, is asking volunteers to take part in its first volunteer survey of hemlock woolly adelgid at a Maine state park.
Additional volunteers are needed for a survey of hemlock woolly adelgid at Vaughan Woods State Park, South Berwick, according to Allison Kanoti, MFS forest entomologist. Teams are needed to survey both the presence of the invasive insect and the number of hemlock trees in the park, she said.
Read Entire Article in the Bangor Daily News
Today, Acadia Insurance’s Loss Control Department issued a warning & reminder about Snow Loads on Roofs.
Our thanks to Acadia Insurance and Don Curtis for making this information available.
Senator Susan Collins (R-ME)
WASHINGTON, D.C.-U.S. Senator Susan Collins expressed concern and disappointment that the House of Representatives is set to pass a sweeping funding bill known as a Continuing Resolution (CR) that does not include a provision to make permanent or even extend the pilot program that allows trucks weighing up to 100,000 pounds to travel on federal interstate highways in Maine. The CR provides funding for essential programs through September 30, 2011.
Senator Collins authored and successfully secured this pilot project last year. The House is set to vote on the funding measure as early as tomorrow. Without an extension, on December 18, the heaviest trucks will be forced off federal highways and back onto secondary roads.
“Permanently allowing the heaviest trucks to use federal interstate highways in Maine has always been one of my top priorities,” said Senator Collins. “The pilot project has clearly provided economic, energy, and environmental benefits and has made our secondary roads and many downtowns safer. That is why I am so disappointed that the House could pass a Continuing Resolution that does not include either a permanent fix or an extension of the current pilot program that I authored. Given the time constraints and voting rules in the Senate, it is unlikely that we can restore the truck weights language that the House took out, thus jeopardizing the fate of what has been a successful pilot project.
“At my request, the Administration included a provision to make the pilot project permanent in the proposed CR it sent to the House last week. It’s unfortunate that the House removed that provision. I urge Congressman Mike Michaud, who is a member of the House Transportation Committee, to work to convince House leaders to include this vital language before the House votes on the bill. Without this language, not only would the heaviest trucks be forced off the federal interstates and back onto secondary roads, but it would also create unnecessary confusion for Maine’s trucking industry and public safety officials,” continued Senator Collins.
Last year, Senator Collins successfully included a provision in the FY 2010 Omnibus Appropriations bill that created a one-year pilot project that allows trucks weighing up to 100,000 pounds to travel on Maine’s federal interstates, such as I-95, 195, 295 and 395. According to the results of a preliminary study by the Maine Department of Transportation, the pilot program has allowed Maine businesses to receive raw materials and ship products more economically, thus helping to preserve and create jobs. It has also improved safety, saved energy, and reduced emissions. For example, on a trip from Hampden to Houlton, a truck travelling on Interstate 95 saves 50 minutes over Route 2 and avoids more than 270 intersections and nine school crossings. The driver also saves approximately $30 on fuel by traveling on the Interstate
In June 2004, Wilbur Smith Associates, a nationally recognized transportation consulting firm, completed a study which found that extending the current truck weight exemption on the Maine Turnpike to all federal highways in Maine would reduce heavy truck traffic through several communities such as Saco, Old Orchard Beach, Freeport, and Bangor and Brewer, and result in a significant decrease of three fatal crashes per year.
Last year, Senator Collins was appointed to a seat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. During a Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, Senator Collins first raised the issue of Maine’s truck weight disparity with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood who pledged to help address this issue. Senator Collins then continued to work with her colleagues on the Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee to have her provision included in the FY 2010 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill. Since then, she has worked with the Administration which has tried to help make the provision permanent. Unfortunately, the House did not include the provisions.
Land Rights Network
American Land Rights Association (ALRA)
Keep Private Land In Private Hands Coalition
—–Before you do anything else after reading this message, forward
it on to as much of your e-mail list as you can.
By forwarding this message you can help create an uprising against
any Omnibus Federal Lands bill that rears it ugly head in the Lame
Duck Session of Congress.
The Omnibus Federal Lands bill as well as the LWCF Billion Dollar
Trust Fund and the Corps and EPA Wetlands Land and Water Grab bill
can be stopped but you and ALRA as well as many other groups as
possible. All of us must work together to stop this massive attack on
your rights.
You must let any Congressman or Senator who votes for the likely
Omnibus Federal Lands Bill know now, before the vote, that you will
remember and he or she will be held accountable.
We’ve listed the Senators who voted for the Omnibus Federal Lands
bill in 2009 so you can call them and make sure they know you will
hold any vote on a possible 2010 Omnibus Federal Lands Bill against
them. With the recent election results, they are likely to pay
attention to you.
