During his tenure as the assistant city administrator in Auburn, Mark Adams has been a lightning rod for his role in some of the city’s biggest – and most controversial – projects.

While this page has been at odds with Adams on several issues, he has shown himself to be a competent, hardworking public servant for both Auburn and Lewiston. Before going to work for Auburn, Adams was assistant city administrator in Lewiston.

Adams told the City Council about his plans to leave city government Monday during an executive session. He told his boss, City Manager Pat Finnigan, about his decision on June 30, and will begin in his new role as the head of human resources for the Maine Turnpike Authority on July 30.

A quick look around Auburn, and Adam’s impact is clear. He was the city’s lead person on the new Hilton Garden Inn, has overseen renovations of Auburn Hall and the construction of Festival Plaza, and been a strong advocate for redeveloping the downtown, including the addition of publicly owned parking garages.

He also was the voice of the city during contentious labor negotiations between the city and its police department. The contract dispute dragged on for more than a year, becoming highly charged before finally being settled with a new deal in May.

His important role in the city’s biggest decisions has made Adams a frequent target for critics, but he has remained a tireless advocate for reviving Auburn and a staunch defender of those plans.

Adams has been an eloquent spokesman for the city, at ease with people and fluent on the issues within the community. His departure is a big loss for the city.

Roads less traveled

The bulldozers are already warming up.

Their target: 60 million acres of national forest that have been protected by rules prohibiting new road construction.

The Bush administration announced its intentions this week to roll back the Clinton-era rules that have protected remote areas of the national forest system from logging, mineral extraction and energy exploration. Under Bush’s plan, the national system of forest management would be replaced, and greater control of natural resources would be shifted to individual governors. It would be up to them to petition the Forest Service for more or less protection for national forests in their states.

If the Bush changes occur, national rules would be replaced with willy-nilly regulations that vary from state to state and governor to governor.

In December, Gov. Baldacci wrote a letter to the president, urging him to leave the roadless rules intact. The changes could affect the White Mountains National Forest in western Maine.

If the Bush administration has its way, the federal government will shirk its responsibility for the stewardship of national forests. Already, the administration has tried to open up 9 million acres in the Tongass National Forest in Alaska; it fell to Congress to defang that move.

We should not allow the further deterioration of our national forests. It is up to us to protect these resources for future generations.

Let’s turn off those bulldozers.