We talked a week or so ago about the tough job facing LURC in the coming months.

That maybe these folks are going to need a stiff drink or two and some time on a tropical beach somewhere when they're all through. Who could blame them?

They are, after all, responsible for zoning regulation of more than 10 million acres of "unorganized" townships in Maine. It's a hefty burden to shoulder, but that's their job.

In the current climate of fractionalization and turnover of land ownership, the pressure for short term returns by investors new to the land game, globalization of the timber industry and its decline here in Maine, increased pressure on the natural resource base by development concerns and recreational users of all stripes, it's a job I wouldn't relish.

Take a look at what's on LURCs plate in the near term alone:

* The Plum Creek plan for 1,000 house lots, 2 resorts and some 450,000 acres of conservation land
* Matt Poulstein's plan for a smaller scale resort near Millinocket Lake
* A wind power project in the Boundary Bald Mountains (Note: the Redington wind project near the AT went down by a 6-1 margin last week after LURCs staff had given it the green light).
* Review and revisions to LURCs 10-year comp plan
* Never mind the permitting review of a multitude of other smaller projects

How do you think LURCs land use decisions will affect the future of Maine's North Woods?
Photo by Carey Kish

Do the LURC folks have the resources they need to meet the demands placed on them?

Hard telling. And it depends on who you ask.

There isn't a state agency worth its salt that wouldn't take more money and manpower if offered. But this state is in no position to dole out any extras at this point.

Director Catherine Carroll seems to indicate that LURC can-do and will make-do just fine with the resources at hand.

Others, like RESTORE, question whether the agency is "understaffed and overworked" and don't seem to like the agency's perceived rubber-stamp approach to some development projects.

Who's right? What to do?

Development--where, when and how it is allowed--will largely determine what Maine's North Woods will look like in the future. And those decisions are the purview of LURC, its staff and directors.

But remember, LURC doesn't work in a vacuum. It's work is more in the public eye than ever. And the process allows for plenty of public input along the way, something Mainers are pretty darn good at.

That's why I have faith in their competence and professionalism and with that, trust that they can and will make the right decisions.

What do you think?