Grassroots efforts by a handful of current and former Bowdoin students may prevent the development of idyllic wilderness in northern Maine by an outside real estate trust.
Plum Creek Real Estate Investment Trust, a Seattle-based developer and the largest private landowner in the nation, is currently seeking approval for development around Moosehead Lake, the largest lake in Maine. Plum Creek plans to build housing and resorts on property around the lake.
But Bowdoin alum Colin Beckman '07, an organizer trying to stop the development of Moosehead Lake, believes that development can be prevented through community-oriented activism.
"People will be able to see the results of their efforts in a way that differs from most grassroots opportunities," said Beckman, adding that the campaign "really allows students to take [fighting the development] on as their project."
Currently, Beckman and 41 other Bowdoin students are involved in efforts to prevent the development.
The Moosehead Lake Campaign aims to write 1,000 letters petitioning the LURC against the development of Moosehead Lake, as well as having 1,000 people attend and speak out at the four hearings LURC will hold to discuss the plans. Of that 1,000, Beckman hopes that 250 of them will be from Bowdoin or the Brunswick area.
On campus, the Moosehead Lake Campaign will continue to enlist students and rally support for the cause. To raise awareness, the campaign will engage in letter-writing parties, dorm storms (where campaign members visit dorms to raise awareness), a contra dance for the cause, and trips to the hearings, among other events.
In 1998, Plum Creek purchased the land surrounding Moosehead Lake from Sappi, a leading paper producer in South Africa. Upon purchase of the land, Plum Creek announced that they would keep the land zoned for timber. Because the land purchased by Plum Creek was to be used primarily for forestry and wilderness conservation, the company was able to buy the land for only $200 an acre.
But in April of 2005, Plum Creek made a proposal to develop the land for real estate. Twice the public rebutted proposals and asked the company to rethink their planning.
A hearing slated for this November marks the third time the company will petition for construction authorization, though this time Plum Creek will go before the seven-member Land Use Regulation Committee (LURC) for approval. Although this is not Plum Creek's first proposal, it is the first time the decision will be determined by the committee.
The development proposal will now span over 20,500 acres of undeveloped land. Plum Creeks plans to build 2,315 "residential and resort accommodations," according to the Plum Creek Concept Map.
Public sentiment is divided on the issue. Though Greenville and Rockwood, neighboring towns to Moosehead Lake, might be well served by the influx of new people into their struggling economies, some feel that the development would bring a host of problems into the community.
Beckman and others working on the campaign believe that the sprawl would also lead to corporate contracting, transforming a haven of pines into a jungle of asphalt, McDonalds and spas. Beckman, along with the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) would like to see more sustainable development.
According to Diano Circo, NRCM's North Woods Policy Advocate and Outreach Coordinator, it would be better to "structure the community to be locally developed and not [developed] by some outside source."
The issue Beckman and his peers find more pressing, however, is the destruction of the wilderness that would inevitably take place.
Circo described Moosehead Lake as a "beautiful place, a gem of Maine."
Students involved with the project have different reasons for their commitment. Some are interested in wilderness conservation, while others have personal ties.
Bennett Haynes '08 recalls the time he spent in the area as a child.
"I grew up going on trips up there and really gained an appreciation for that region," he said.
Circo is optimistic about the future of the lake region.
"Maine is a very different place," he said. "In Maine, people make a difference."