Signaling the start of a new chapter, after a previous plan was shelved, the Land Use Planning Commission said its latest decision offer "an opportunity to choose" what to do with nearly 17,000 acres that had been slated for development.
The Land Use Planning Commission has approved for processing the petition by timber company Weyerhaeuser to withdraw a Moosehead Lake region development plan that would allow more than 2,000 residences, originally proposed by Plum Creek.
The merger between Weyerhaeuser Co. and Plum Creek Timber Co., one of Maine's top-five landowners, would create the largest timberland company in the United States.
The Appalachian Mountain Club, partnering with The Nature Conservancy, has purchased 4,311 acres in two parcels on and around Baker Mountain in the 100-Mile Wilderness region near Greenville.