Throughout the process of evaluating and responding to Plum Creek's Concept Plan, AMC has been guided by the following set of principles:
- Conservation must be permanent and must be on a scale commensurate with the size of the region and the size of proposed development.
- The remote and undeveloped character of the region must be maintained as the region’s primary asset. The Maine Woods is the last large-scale wild place in the East.
- The public must be able to access and enjoy the natural, scenic, and recreational assets of the region. Development must not lead to “privatization” of these resources.
- Long-term planning and predictability are critical to ensuring the on-going economic vitality of local communities. Any development must reflect the values of local communities, and its primary economic benefits must accrue locally.
- Development should be contiguous to existing development, maximizing the economic benefits and minimizing the infrastructure costs to local communities.
- Protection of remaining recreation corridors that provide high-quality multi-day waterway and forest backcountry trips, an extremely limited resource today, is paramount.
- To fulfill the objectives of Maine’s “Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy,” the most ecologically important areas must be protected.
- An appropriate balance between the economic benefits to landowners seeking to develop, and economic benefits to the people of Maine must be provided.
