Fate of Maine, USA Forests Leads to Political Debate
10/1/96
OVERVIEW & SOURCE by EE
Following is an excellent article which details a statewide referendum in
Maine, USA, on the fate of clear-cutting. While much is made of American
West Coast forest conservation efforts, the U.S. Eastern Deciduous forest
is also the scene of extensive forest activism. The area's industrial
forest operations have had free reign to heavily harvest these forests for
too long, and the citizen response to forest diminishment is commendable
and replicable. Choose a forest to protect and start organizing!
g.b.
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
In Maine this fall, politics means logging debate
September 29, 1996
Copyright 1996 Reuters Limited
TOWNSHIP 1, RANGE 6, Maine (Reuter) -- The colors of fall foliage have
again arrived in the most heavily wooded state in the nation, but voters
are being asked if the historic forest is on the verge of destruction.
The emotional battle over a logging practice known as clear-cutting has
forged unusual political alliances and largely obscured debate over whom
Maine will support for Congress and the White House.
"If we win here, it will be tremendous for forest in the rest of the
country and the globe," said Jonathan Carter, who helped draft a proposal
to ban clear-cutting in Maine's North Woods and tighten other logging
rules.
Carter and other environmentalists associated with the state's fledgling
Green Party stunned political leaders and the powerful paper industry
by collecting 58,000 signatures to force a referendum vote on their
proposal.
Voters now face campaigns for three competing referendums, including a
compromise plan that would limit clear-cuts but not ban them and a
"none of the above" measure that would leave current forestry rules
unchanged.
Several polls have shown the compromise measure leading, but pollsters
caution that voters are still confused about their choices and supporters
of the "none of the above" option have just launched their campaign.
The forests of spruce, fir and hardwood trees have been central to Maine's
economy since the first European settlers arrived. Forest-product
manufacturing is the state's largest industry, employing 32,000 people in
the woods and paper mills.
With 90 percent of its acreage considered woodlands, Maine is the most
forested state. Most commercial forest is privately owned and located
in northern Maine, where unpopulated "towns" like Township 1, Range 6, are
named for their map coordinates.
Supporters of a clear-cut ban contend that clear-cutting -- in which all
trees are removed from a large area -- inflicts long-term damage to
the soil and health of the tree supply, but the industry maintains it is
an
important forest management tool.
Ban opponents cite a state report predicting 15,000 jobs will be lost if
the measure is approved, but ban supporters contend the economy
will be strengthened, because selective logging requires more workers and
the forest resource will be protected.
Whatever the economic and environmental arguments, logging industry
officials acknowledge privately that clear-cuts are difficult to defend
politically, because the practice leaves ugly scars on the landscape.
Under pressure from Gov. Angus King, the forest products industry
negotiated an agreement with some of its traditional political enemies in
the environmental community to tighten the rules for clear-cutting but not
ban it.
"It was the right idea at the right time under the right circumstances and
being supported by the right people," King told reporters September 8,
when the state legislature voted to place the compromise referendum on the
ballot.
But in agreeing to put a "competing measure" on the ballot, lawmakers were
also required to give voters a choice of "none of the above." Landowner
rights activists who oppose any logging restrictions have rallied behind
that proposal.
The forestry debate has overshadowed the campaigns for the White House and
the seat being vacated by Sen. William Cohen, and some political analysts
say those and other races will be influenced by the battle between the
referendums.
"The forestry referenda are going to be one of the major stimuli of
turnout
in this election, because they involve issues on which voters have very
strong opinions," said Tony Corrado, a political scientist at Colby
College.
Corrado said increased turnout by more conservative voters in northern
Maine could help Republican Senate candidate Susan Collins.
Democrat Joe Brennan has moved to counter that with a large voter-turnout
effort in his southern Maine base. Brennan and Collins both support the
compromise measure.