We are confident that this process would yield sensible, workable interpretations of the referendum that would not look anything like the arguments currently being articulated by opponents of Question 2. If legislative action is required to achieve this result, we will support it. The forest products industry complains about the language of Question 2, just as it objects to every proposed reform, without ever offering an alternative that would actually lead to improvement in the condition of Maine's forests. Industry wants no additional rules and is using the issue of sprawl to confuse voters about what Question 2 is really about. The issue is not sprawl, but whether our forests will receive necessary safeguards to prevent destructive logging practices.
Serious problems persist in Maine's woods.
Industry's lobbyists have consistently kept the Legislature from taking any meaningful action in the last decade. With an exemption for landowners owning fewer than 1,000 acres, this referendum will make a positive contribution to the protection of Maine's forests. We urge Maine people to vote yes on Question 2. Brownie Carson is executive director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine.