An Economic Boost to Northern Maine: Pleasant River Lumber
The owners of Pleasant River Lumber Company, a spruce dimension lumber mill in Dover-Foxcroft, are proceeding with plans to build a new spruce dimension lumber mill in the Old Town/Lincoln area. The new mill will employ 50 to 70 people and be located in the corridor between Old Town and Lincoln.

The exact location is within West Enfield, at an estimated $17 million. The owners, the Brochu family, are third generation loggers and second generation sawmill owners who have been doing business in Maine for over 60 years.

The original Pleasant River facility in Dover-Foxcroft employs 90 people, making it one of the largest employers in Piscataquis County. The company recently completed a $5 million modernization and upgrade project at the Dover mill.

"The owners are excited about the potential of the new mill and believe that the raw material supply is adequate to support such an operation. The workforce at the existing mill has proven itself to be a strong and reliable team and the owners are confident they will experience the same at the new mill."

The Coalition welcomes Pleasant River Lumber Company of Dover-Foxcroft as well as Pleasant River Lumber Company Vice President Jason Brochu as our newest members.

Greenville Public Hearing
It was standing room only this past Wednesday as the Greenville Selectmen and Town Manager invited public comment on the Plum Creek Plan from local residents at the Greenville Town Office. The purpose of the meeting was to gather input from Greenville residents and hear their suggestions about the Plum Creek proposal for balancing working forests, conservation and development around Moosehead Lake.

The Town will present these suggestions to Plum Creek Timber Company to consider as they continue to revise their plan. Plum Creek recently informed the Greenville Board of Selectmen that they hope to resubmit their proposal by March 1st at the latest.

Most of the changes to the Plum Creek Plan trace back to the public comments heard last August at the four Issue Scoping Sessions sponsored by LURC in Greenville, Jackman, Rockwood and Hallowell. As reported recently in the press, Plum Creek listened intently to all the concerns and as a result, changes are being considered:

Congregating more of the individual house lots closer to Greenville and other developed areas; Identifying a more permanent way to ensure that roughly 400,000 acres remains forested in response to citizen concerns about what will happen to the land after a 30-year conservation easement expires; Moving the resort planned for Rockwood closer to Greenville and scaling back the size of a resort planned for Lily Bay.

Thank You from RRG&SA
The Rangeley Region Guides and Sportsmen's Association emailed a nice thank you note to the Coalition for hosting "a very informative and interesting meeting" at the SAM Sportsmen's Congress at the Maple Hill Farm and Conference Center on January 6th.

We'd like to thank members of the Rangeley Region Guides and Sportsmen's Association for attending the Congress and hope to discuss matters of importance to us all as we move forward in 2006.

Bus to the Burnt Jacket Public Hearings
Hank McPherson of McPherson Timberlands has arranged for bus transportation from the Beaver Cove area to the public hearings on his Burnt Jacket development plan before the Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC) in Bangor on February 1st and 2nd at the Bangor Motor Inn.

McPherson is hoping to give local residents every opportunity to voice their support and concerns about his plan and has reserved a 54-passenger bus to make the trip to the public hearings. The bus trips will be for anyone, regardless of how they feel about the proposal. McPherson will have more information on the bus trips in coming weeks.

In December, LURC Director Catherine Carroll said she placed the hearing in Bangor because of a lack of suitable local sites that could handle the space and administrative requirements of a LURC hearing.

The hearing starts at 1:00 p.m. on February 1st. All interested parties are invited to attend and offer testimony. The record of the public hearing will stay open for a period following the hearing and written testimony can be submitted to:

Maine Land Use Regulation Commission
22 State House Station
Augusta, Maine 04333

International Biathlon Championship in Presque Isle
On January 10th, the Maine State Legislature and Governor Baldacci recognized the week of January 29 to February 3, 2006 as the "2006 International Biathlon Union's Biathlon Youth/Junior World Championship Week" in the State of Maine. The Nordic Heritage Ski Club of Presque Isle is hosting the 2006 International Biathlon Union's Biathlon Youth/Junior World Championship where athletes from 30 countries will be competing.

For more information about the Nordic Heritage Ski Club and the Biathlon competition, please visit their web site at: www.nordicheritagecenter.org

Visit the Coalition Web Site
You can find more information about the Coalition at our web site at www.preservegrowme.org.

Coalition Information Center
Location: Community House · 6 Lakeview Street · Greenville · Maine
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 944 · Greenville · Maine · 04441
Telephone: 207-695-2264 (toll free 888-702-7466)
Web Site: www.preservegrowme.org

Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. Please forward this to your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers and organizations you belong to and help us spread the word. Any questions or comments may be directed to Edie Leary eleary@eatonpeabody.com or Will Gardiner wgardiner@eatonpeabody.com or by calling The Coalition Information Center at 1-888-702-7466 or (207) 695-2264.