FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 7, 2006
FALMOUTH, Maine, June 7, 2006 - Maine's Land Use Regulation Commission today accepted four Maine conservation organizations' interventions in opposition to the Redington wind power project proposed for western Maine. The groups' individual interventions will allow them to present and examine testimony during LURC's review of the proposed project.
Maine Audubon, the state's largest wildlife conservation organization, joins the Appalachian Mountain Club, Appalachian Trail Conservancy and Maine Appalachian Trail Club in opposing this particular project.
All four organizations recognize the need for and benefits of wind-power in the northeast and generally have not opposed other wind-power projects in the region. However, compared to other potential wind-power sites in Maine, the proposed Redington site puts at excessive risk a number of ecological, recreational and scenic resources of state and national significance.
After over a decade of trying to encourage the developer to consider alternatives to this particularly sensitive site, the developer's recent application to LURC left the four organizations little recourse but to formally oppose the project.
Proposed by Maine Mountain Power, LLC-a joint venture of California- and Maine-based companies-part of the project would be sited on Redington Pond Range, fragmenting and diminishing one of the largest roadless areas in the state.
Seventeen rare species are among the diverse plants and animals this area supports. They include the mountain bird Bicknell's thrush, a "species of concern" identified by multiple wildlife agencies as a high-level conservation priority, and six other species that could suffer direct, negative impacts of building and operating the wind-power project.
EDITORS: For a digital photo of a Bicknell's thrush, please call (207) 781-2330, ext. 241.
Also in this area is a rare subalpine forest mapped by the Maine Natural Areas Program and identified by the state's environmental organizations as high priority for land conservation.
The four conservation organizations granted intervenor status today are concerned that building and operating the proposed wind-power project would fragment the landscape, damage fragile high-elevation vegetation, and diminish the forest's value as wildlife habitat.
In addition to 30 turbines rising over 400 feet above the ground and lit at night, the project would include 12 1/2 miles of new roads constructed primarily on steep slopes, as well as over 10 miles of transmission lines that would further impact the wild area.
"Wind power and habitat protection are not at odds: Maine can have both," said Jody Jones, Maine Audubon wildlife ecologist, "and Maine Audubon wants to help Maine have both. But there are a handful of areas in Maine where wind power should not be located, and the Redington Pond Range is one of them."
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the Maine Appalachian Trail Club also are concerned that the proposed project would lessen the scenic quality of one of Maine's most remote and spectacular mountain regions, severely compromising the Appalachian National Scenic Trail that wraps for almost 50 miles around the proposed development site, at times as close as a mile and a half.
"The proposed project would have a significant, unavoidable negative impact on the backcountry experience of those who use the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, an important part of the National Park System," said J.T. Horn, New England director for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. "Every major summit vista would be impacted along a 50-mile section of the Appalachian Trail-a week's worth of hiking-between Saddleback Mountain and the Bigelow Range."
"This area is one of the richest in Maine for ecological, recreational and scenic values of state and national significance. It has the largest concentration of Maine's highest mountains and some of the state's most remote terrain," said Dr. David Publicover, senior staff scientist of the Appalachian Mountain Club.
LURC hearings on the application are expected to take place the end of July or beginning of August.
MAINE AUDUBON works to conserve Maine's wildlife and wildlife habitat by engaging people of all ages in education, conservation and action. With a 160-year history of connecting people with nature, Maine Audubon today is affiliated with Audubon's national organization and has seven local chapters in the state. Support for Maine Audubon comes from 11,000 members and supporters, including individuals, foundations and corporations.
APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN CLUB, founded in 1876, is the oldest conservation and recreation organization in the United States. With 90,000 members in the Northeast and beyond, the nonprofit AMC promotes the protection, enjoyment and wise use of the mountains, rivers and trails of the Appalachian region. For information on AMC's wind power siting research, see: www.outdoors.org/conservation. THE
APPALACHIAN TRAIL CONSERVANCY, www.appalachiantrail.org, is a volunteer-based nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of the 2,175-mile Appalachian National Scenic Trail, a 250,000-acre greenway extending from Maine to Georgia. Our mission is to ensure that future generations will enjoy the clean air and water, scenic vistas, wildlife and opportunities for recreation and renewal along the entire trail corridor.
THE MAINE APPALACHIAN TRAIL CLUB is a volunteer nonprofit corporation that manages 267 miles of the Appalachian Trail in Maine, including its facilities and corridor.
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