State bureau plans to boost wood harvest

The Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands plans to increase the amount of wood it harvests to boost revenue to the state, which officials believe they can do while adhering to standards set by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and the Forest Stewardship Council.

The Maine Public Broadcasting Network reported that the plan calls for the bureau to increase its harvest by 30%, from this year to 2015, which would make for a harvest of 180,000 cords of wood on the 400,000 acres the bureau manages.

The harvest was increased from 128,000 cords to 140,000 this year and would be increased in 2014 to 160,000 cords.

The station reported that the policy change came at the request of the governor’s office, which asked forestry officials how much additional wood could be sustainably harvested on public lands and how much revenue that would generate.

The plan would still allow for more cords per acre than many commercial woodlots, MPBN reported, but critics say the increase marks a significant policy shift for the state that was made without public discussion or public involvement.

Malcolm Hunter, a conservation biologist at the University of Maine, told the station he believes the harvest could be sustained for a period of time but expressed concern that the harvest increase would lead to a reduction in the number of ecologically valuable mature trees.

Will Harris, director of the Bureau of Parks and Lands, told the station the bureau’s foresters will check harvest results at five-year intervals to see if adjustments need to be made and that the harvest will not interfere with the state’s forest certification.