The North Maine Woods stores a lot of carbon. With better forest management, it could store more and help New England reach a climate benchmark. But there’s disagreement about how to approach this.
Spanning more than 10 million acres, the North Woods are almost entirely privately owned. Historically, they supported paper mills and towns that sprung up around them. More recently, Maine’s paper industry has been in decline. Instead, large landowners like the Seven Islands Land Company have tried to diversify, turning higher quality logs into lumber at this sawmill in Ashland and using the lower quality wood for pulp and paper and to burn for heat. President and CEO Dan LaMontagne says sustainable management depends on markets for both.
By Susan Sharon