From those discussions, it was clear that residents had recommendations, concerns and suggestions not only about the Seattle-based company's 426,000-acre conservation and development plan, but also about other development proposed for the region.

Many of these residents felt uncomfortable about airing their concerns during public meetings before state officials and figured that their voices would never be heard outside of the region.

But that won't be the case.

From those meetings, the Moosehead Region Futures Committee was hatched, a committee that will serve as a conduit where residents' ideas about the region can be communicated to those who will make permitting decisions, according to Sandra Neily of Greenville and John Willard of Rockwood.

It is not a membership organization where people take sides on an issue; it is more of a "regional conversation" of the region's future and how it will all get there, explained Neily, who was hired as the MRFC coordinator. The group has opened an office in Greenville and expects to have a Web site soon.

The working goals of this grass-roots organization has received interest and support from the Northeast State Foresters Association, the Northern Forest Center, and the New England Grassroots Environment Fund, all organizations that support local efforts to link rural economies and careful management of natural resources. Together these groups have awarded MRFC a total of $14,500.

The Northeast State Foresters Association works to encourage sound decisions about the management and use of forest resources across Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York. The Northern Forest Center is a private, nonprofit organization that mobilizes people to build healthy communities, economies and ecosystems by working together across the northern forest region. A small grant program, the New England Grassroots Environment Fund, is designed to foster local grass-roots environmental initiatives that results in broader community involvement.

Neither for nor against development, the Moosehead Region Futures Committee will try to create a service process to help as many people as possible to be part of the review process, according to Willard. He said Plum Creek has met with the committee once but has never held any discussions with residents of Rockwood, where the company plans about 75 percent of its development.

Pete Johnson, an MRFC member from Wilson Pond, thinks the committee's best contribution might be the opportunity to act as an honest broker between all the various stakeholders of the region. He said he hopes "the committee will have a significant impact in articulating the region's core values of sustainability, forestry, nature-based tourism, preservation of wildlife and planned habitat and development."

"This is a pivotal time in the Moosehead Lake region," said Wendy Weiger of Greenville, another MRFC member. It is a time of great risks but it also offers great opportunities, she said. "Change is inevitable; we must act now to ensure that our region changes for the better not for the worse," she said.

To reach the Moosehead Region Futures Committee, call 695-4888 or email info@mooseheadfutures.org.
"This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the Wednesday, November 23, 2005 edition of the Bangor Daily NEWS and is used here with permission."