The people who live and work in the Moosehead Lake region do not want to sacrifice their North Woods backyard homes to make a living and provide for their families. The challenge lies in generating economic opportunities and new jobs that match the region's unique heritage and traditions, including forestry jobs and increased revenues from nature-based tourism.

Plum Creek listened to these concerns. As the region's largest landowner, we have a vested interest in making sure this special part of Maine can support its workforce and families without sacrificing all the things that make Moosehead special. That's why our plan calls for providing economic prosperity by protecting the area's most valuable assets.

So, how do we define those assets and their value?

Even a brief inventory reveals what regional and state officials have been saying for many years: Moosehead's economic future would be best supported and rekindled by combining and capitalizing upon its economic traditions: forest products and nature-based recreational opportunities.

Creating a fusion between these two industries hinges upon preserving the region's remote characteristics, thus ensuring its value as both a desirable nature-based tourism destination and a vast landscape of working forestlands.

Dr. Charles Colgan, an economist at the University of Southern Maine, agrees with that concept.

Dr. Colgan completed an economic analysis of Plum Creek's plan relating to the regional economy in the plan area. Please click here to view or download the report.

Colgan, who serves as chair of the Muskie School's graduate program in community planning and development, outlined several key points in his analysis of Plum Creek's revised plan, including:

• Plum Creek's plan offers economic sustainability for the Moosehead Lake region by focusing upon its traditional industries, including timber management and nature-based recreational tourism.

• Plum Creek's proposed permanent conservation easements could stimulate further economic investment by guaranteeing public access on these private lands.

Maine's Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC) encourages landowners within its jurisdiction to initiate "long-range, natural resource-based planning." And Gov. John Baldacci has called for "strengthening the connection between economic health and conservation" in Maine's woodlands.

And that is exactly what Plum Creek is trying to do by providing a framework that will:

• Protect the region's remote characteristics.
• Create long-term economic prosperity through permanent conservation.
• Ensure future generations traditional recreational access to this beautiful region forever.