Do you have questions about the proposed residential construction project at Moosehead Lake by the Plum Creek crowd?

Send them along.

Your Scribe plans to visit the area next month, and get a guided tour from the "developers."

Strangely, I am neutral on the project right now.

I am against raping the land, of course.

Plum Creek says they won't do that, but who knows once the backhoes swing into action.

But here are two thoughts:

Maine is a huge state, with more forest than any state east of the Mississippi.

It seems to me that the more stakeholders there are, the more people will want to preserve what we have.

I have enjoyed my cabin greatly; I am much more attuned to environmental issues now that I have trees and river water to protect.

To have several hundred cabin owners at Moosehead might be a positive thing. (OK, they are selling homes more grandiose than "cabins").

Secondly, people need jobs.

Your Scribe used to yawn at such an argument but no longer.

Maine's fishing industry is disappearing

Jobs related to logging are also in short supply.

Cities producing pulp and paper like Millinocket are threatened with economic disaster.

Communities like Waterville and Winslow are stagnant because corporations like Scott Paper have closed up shop.

(Sad aside: I bought a house in Waterville in 1991 for $106,000. I sold it SEVEN years later for the same price!)

And now MBNA, the tech-savvy financial services company, has been sold and new owners will close a half-dozen offices that were once a boon to Belfast, Rockland and Farmington.

Grim truth: The Maine economy has tourism and old people.

I recently read that the state has more elderly residents (proportionately) than any other.

(Don't bring up Florida, because a lot of young people go there looking for jobs. Few youthful workers have Maine in their sights).

So there you have it - Plum Creek would generate commerce.

Initially it would be in construction, and later in services.

I don't know if it is a good project but I plan to find out as much as I can.

Please send along questions that I can convey to project managers.

You can include them in the Comment section below.

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