Maine Voter's Guide to Question 2: The Forestry Referendum

"Do you favor requiring landowners to obtain a permit for all clear-cuts and defining cutting levels for lands subject to the tree growth tax law?"

Complete text of "An Act Regarding Forest Practices"

Welcome! to the first of many resources and projects offered by the Maine Environmental Policy Institute that are designed to help you, the citizen's of Maine, make up your own mind and to take action on environmental issues. Our goal is to provide you with the facts, the arguments made by each side, and all the independent supporting information you need to arrive at your own decision. This guide contains all articles, editorials, and opinion pieces written in Maine newspapers on Question 2, links to each side's web site, and other background material as well. Make sure to check back often between now and November 7th, as this site will be updated daily with new articles, news and more. Please let us know if we have left anything out, and thank you for visiting our site and for your interest in the issues. - William Sugg, Executive Director, Maine Environmental Policy Institute.

This guide is organized into the following sections:

The case for the referendum
The case against the referendum
Feature articles and analyses
News stories
Opinion pieces and editorials
Other resources

The case for the referendum

Vote Yes on 2 Web site (Forest Ecology Network/Forest for the Future Campaign)
An open letter to the voters of Maine, by Jonathan Carter.
The Maine Woods newspaper, Forest Ecology Network collects 42,000 signatures.
Natural Resources Council of Maine Supports Question 2
Statement by Brownie Carson, Executive Director of NRCM
The Legislature Has Refused to Protect Maine's Forests (NRCM)
Serious Problems in Maine's Forests (NRCM)

The case against the referendum

Vote No on 2 Web site (Maine's Forest Heritage Campaign)
Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine
Questions and Answers (Vote No on 2 Campaign)
Testimony of Tom Doak, Director of the Maine Forest Service, in opposition to Question 2
Forestry Referendum Targets Small Landowners, Fred Huntress, Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine (SWOAM)
Scientific Basis and Implication for the November 2000 Maine Referendum, Dr. Robert G. Wagner, Dr. Robert S. Seymour, Dr. David B. Field, E.L. Giddings

Feature articles, testimony, analyses

Bangor Daily News Feature Series

String of conservation deals have brought an area seven times the size of Baxter State Park under protection (Bangor Daily News, 10/18/00)
The promise of forest certification (Bangor Daily News, 10/17/00)
Jonathan Carter makes unlikely savior of the forest (Bangor Daily News, 10/16/00)
Mainers debate woods rules (Bangor Daily News, 10/14/00)

Twenty Ways of Looking at Maine’s Forestry Referendum, (Northern Woodlands Magazine)
Small woodlot owner's analysis of An Act Regarding Forest Practices, by Pamela Prodan (Northern Forest Forum)
Sides battle over forests' future (Portland Press Herald, 10/1/00)
Why should Portlanders care about this November's clear-cutting referendum? (Casco Bay Weekly, 8/3/00)
Whose woods these are... (MaineBiz, 4/17/00)

Maine Environmental Policy Institute
220 Water Street, Hallowell, Maine 04347. Phone: 207-622-9766
Email: meepi@meepi.org