More than 50 people gathered at Stearns High School in Millinocket Monday evening, to comment on a proposed mine near Patten in northern Penobscot County.
Speakers were split on whether the Land Use Planning Commission should approve a rezoning plan that would allow Wolfden Resources to move forward with metallic mineral mining in the Katahdin region of Penobscot County.
Some residents say they want the industrial jobs the mine would bring, and others say they worry about polluting Maine's wilderness.
Sen. Trey Stewart — minority leader of the Maine Senate and a Republican whose district includes the mine's location near Patten — says he supports the project and the economic benefits it would bring to the area.
"I would like to ask you to remember that in addition to our woods and waters perhaps our most precious resource is that of our northern Maine people," Stewart said. "I respectfully ask that you listen to the support that you hear from folks who live in these communities, these folks support this rezoning application and are interested in seeing the project move forward to the next phase."
He also said that Maine has the strictest mining regulations in the world that will protect natural resources as mining begins.
Todd Martin lives in Winslow and works with the National Parks Conservation Association, a nonprofit that advocates for national park sites. Martin says that the mine is a significant threat to the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.
"After reading Wolfden's application thoroughly, it is abundantly clear that their mining proposal is a serious threat to the dark skies, the quiet solitude, the viewshed and the endangered species of the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, whose border is just seven miles from the proposed mining operation," Martin said.
Public comment will continue tonight in Millinocket, and next week in Bangor.
