AUGUSTA – A Jay logging contractor has entered into an agreement with the Maine Forest Service that resolves a violation of the state’s forest practices law on land in Freeman Township in northern Franklin County.

The Maine State Forest Service of the Maine Department of Conservation announced the agreement on Monday in a press release.

John Korhonen has agreed to pay a $5,000 civil penalty for the violation, according to the release. The landowner, David Rasmussen, also was assessed a civil penalty of $1,000 as the fee owner of the property, the release states.

Korhonen, who lives in Jay but has a Livermore post office box, was the previous owner of the property and retained the stumpage rights for the timber after its sale.

Korhonen’s timber harvesting resulted in the clear-cutting violation of the Forest Practices Act, the release states. The 50-acre clear-cut violated the state’s forest-practices rules governing the size, arrangement and management of clear-cuts.

Under the settlement agreement, Korhonen agreed to pay the civil penalty, and Rasmussen was required to develop an after-the-fact forest management plan for the clear-cut area, the release states.

“To make them effective as deterrents, penalties for forest-practices rule violations are intended to remove the financial benefit obtained through such violations,” Maine Forest Service Director Doug Denico said.

Tom Whitworth, Maine Forest Service regional enforcement coordinator, said that both parties worked closely with the Maine Forest Service to address the issue and took full responsibility for the violation.

“These types of violations often result from inadequate harvest planning and supervision, which can result in unintentional forest practices law violations,” Whitworth said.

Korhonen said he did not agree with the state’s assessment of the situation.

The penalty was originally $14,500 but he settled on $5,000. He paid the fine last week, he said.

“You just do the best you can,” he said.

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