The Sun Journal reported that MeadWestvaco plans to sell its large holdings of forest lands in our area. (May 15)

We residents of Loon Lake in Franklin County are appreciative of the forest stewardship practiced by Mead, one of several exemplary companies responsible for preserving the unique character of the Maine forests that has attracted many of us to this beautiful area.

We are increasingly apprehensive, however, due to the extraordinary development pressures reported in your special article entitled “Rangeley.” Building permits in our own Dallas Plantation have increased from a few annually in the past decade to 12-20 annually in the past two years.

Maine’s Land Use Regulation Commission is considering rules to “streamline” piecemeal subdivision applications in general management areas – the very areas that MeadWestvaco is selling. Overburdened governments have difficulty coping with the superheated development pressures. The opportunistic responses to rising land values, we fear, will lead to ill-considered and irreversible changes to the working forests on which Rangeley’s recreational economy is based.

Your article notes that MeadWestvaco is seeking not just a favorable price, but also a guaranteed supply of wood from land managed according to third-party certified sustainable forestry practices. The Loon Lake Association joins all area residents in hoping that MeadWestvaco maintains its proud tradition by selecting a buyer dedicated to maintaining a working forest compatible with wildlife habitats and open recreational access – not one who will succumb to short-term profits in development.

John T. Scholz, Dallas Plantation

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