Maine’s Land Use Planning Commission will increase from 9 to 11 commissioners under a new state law.
Commissioners will be appointed to represent the Wabanaki Nations as well as the state’s interests within the 10 and a half million acres of the Unorganized Territory.
Luke Frankel, Woods, Waters & Wildlife Director with the Natural Resources Council of Maine, said conservationists say the north woods is a globally significant area for migratory birds.
"The North Maine Woods is part of the temperate forest ecosystem and is one of the largest unfragmented temperate forest ecosystems on Earth," Frankel said.
Frankel said the new law includes term limits and requires commissioners to have qualifications in forestry, land use planning, conservation, fisheries, wildlife, outdoor recreation, and natural resource-based businesses within the Unorganized Territory.
In a release, Wabanaki Alliance Executive Director Maulian Bryant said that the Wabanaki Alliance is pleased about the new law.
"Our people have been stewards of these lands and waters now called Maine since time immemorial, and this measure helps ensure a needed voice and perspective on the Land Use Planning Commission is informed by ancestral wisdom and relevant cultural practices," Bryant said.
Eighty percent of the land owned by the Wabanaki Nations is located in the Unorganized Territory.
The two new commissioners must be approved by the Legislature.
