FARMINGTON – Three consecutive days of public hearings on a rule to eliminate liquidation timber harvesting start this week by the Maine Forest Service.

The 6 to 9 p.m. meetings are on:

• Tuesday, March 23, in conference rooms B and C at the University of Maine at Farmington campus.

• Wednesday, March 24, at the White Birches Motel in Ellsworth.

• Thursday, March 25, in the third floor Bailey Hall at the University of Southern Maine on the Gorham campus.

At these hearings, the Department of Conservation’s Maine Forest Service is seeking public comment on a proposed rule to substantially eliminate liquidation timber harvesting.

The rule was developed at the direction of the Legislature, which enacted “An Act to Promote Stewardship of Forest Resources” last year.

Liquidation harvesting is defined as the purchase of timberland followed by a harvest that removes most or all commercial value in standing timber, without regard for long-term forest management principles, according to the forest service.

It also includes the subsequent sale or attempted resale of the harvested land within five years.

For parcels which are bought, cut, and sold within five years, and which are not exempt, the proposed rule requires either:

• Limiting harvesting to 40 percent of the stand, as it existed when the parcel was bought.

• Or a harvest plan signed by a licensed forester.

• Or showing that a hardship would be created by an emergency.

To view a draft of the rule and a draft outline of a timber harvesting plan to comply with liquidation harvesting rules, visit www.state.me.us/doc/mfs/fpm/liq/liq_public_comments.htm.

Comments can be submitted at the hearings or in writing to Donald J. Mansius, ATTN: Liquidation harvesting rule, Maine Forest Service, 22 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0022, or by e-mail at donald.j.mansius@maine.gov.

For more information, visit the forest service Web site at www.maineforestservice.org.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

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