There were a number of significant changes of ownership in the industrial forestlands surrounding the First Mountain Forest and Appalachian Trail throughout the Mahoosuc Mountain range at the end of 2003 and beginning of 2004. The dramatic changes in ownership are likely to cause even more significant timber harvesting activity than has already been occurring there. There may also be a threat of some future development with the new ownerships.
MEADWESTVACO to WAGNER FOREST MANAGEMENT, Ltd.
In the first sale, MeadWestvaco announced in October of 2003 that it had reached an agreement with Wagner Forest Management, Ltd. for the sale of 629,000 acres of Maine and New Hampshire forestland. The deal was finalized and closed in December, 2003. Much of the land encompasses forestland on the South side of the Mahoosuc Range in New Hampshire and primarily on the North side in Maine, though portions of the Maine lands lie on both sides of the AT corridor through the Mahoosucs. The tract north of First Mountain is included in these lands.
Newspaper articles about the sale indicated that Wagner acted as a management firm for the true buyers, who were identified only as an anonymous investor group now identified as Bayroot, Inc. The purchase agreement did require the new owners to enter into a fifty-year agreement to provide wood pulp to MeadWestvaco's Rumford Mill in Maine and to certify management under SFI standards. MeadWestvaco press releases about the sale lauded the outstanding reputation of Wagner Forest Management, Ltd., which has also been recognized by the Nature Conservancy and other environmental groups for their forestry practices. Still, some reports of that company's cutting practices in other locations in New Hampshire have indicated that extremely heavy cutting has been conducted on lands managed by Wagner. Wagner just paid a significant fine in Vermont a few weeks ago for exceeding acreage approved for a heavy-cutting permit.
The special conditions requiring that this recently acquired woodland provide pulp to the mill and receive SFI certification might appear to provide protection for the forest, but those conditions alone would not prohibit the investor group from subdividing and developing some portions of the land if that maximizes their profits. In a "Maine Times" article, Wagner did not receive very favorable comment from some environmental groups for its purchase in 1999 of the half- million acre "West Branch" purchase in Maine, where it also fronted two anonymous investment groups. One of the investors was the Yale Foundation, a $10B endowment fund. The Yale Foundation manages its extensive timber holdings without interference from the respected Yale School of Forestry and both the university and the endowment state that the overriding concern for management of foundation lands is to maximize profit. It may well be that the Yale Foundation is the principal owner of Bayroot, Inc.
The state of Maine and various environmental groups acted to purchase easements on portions of the West Branch purchase. The primary focus of the state's efforts were to insure sustainable forestry practices on all of these lands, which were considered important natural resources for both the state's economic and environmental health. Wagner reportedly resisted any requirements for adherence to imposed forestry practices and a later evaluation by the state AG concluded that the proposed easements offered by Wagner were "more about short-term profits for the landowner than conservation to the public."
In another portion of that "Maine Times" article, members of a local Maine land trust described a tour of Wagner managed forest lands with a semi-retired forester. The forester was reported to have commented, "It is not illegal, but it is sinful. They are pushing the envelope as hard as they can." It is hoped that Wagner will prove to be the manager that the Nature Conservancy supports and not the company portrayed by its detractors.
HANCOCK TIMBER RESOURCES GROUP to THOMAS DILLON LOGGING
In the second, and perhaps even more significant sale, Thomas Dillon, a Maine logging contractor, bought portions of 35,000 acres of New Hampshire forestland on the north side of the Mahoosucs previously owned by Hancock Timber Resources Group. Dillon acquired 8,500 acres of the land at the end of 2003 and heavy logging began around the Nansen Ski Club trails northeast of Berlin in February. Dillon acquired 22,000 acres of additional land in March, 2004. This land lies in Success and consists of most of the parcels around Success Pond Road up to the North side of the Appalachian Trail. As part of the Hancock land sales, the camp owners around Success Pond were able to purchase their lots through a cooperative agreement. All of these tracts were formally part of the Brown Company lands and have traded hands several times in the past several decades.
Dillon is a small independent logging contractor, whose previous ownership consisted of less than 10,000 acres in Maine. Part of Dillon's purchase included acreage adjacent to Jericho Lake west of Berlin and Dillon was entertaining offers from the USFS to acquire a portion of the Jericho Lake lands for addition to the WMNF. Dillon was also negotiating with the City of Berlin to sell land near the Nansen Ski Club for eventual use as a federal prison.
In discussions with news reporters, Dillon stated that he had no plans at the moment for the Success lands after logging. He stated that he may keep the land and grow trees there and had no intention of subdividing the land. Dillon is cutting pulp to sell to the nearby Berlin mill and consequently is removing relatively small diameter trees in what most observers would describe as clear-cutting. In describing his practices after harvesting, Dillon said, "Some I keep and some I sell." Dillon did try to work with the Nansen Ski Club to protect its trails and will hopefully make accommodations for existing AMC maintained trails in the Mahoosucs.
The Success lands have been harvested repeatedly for the paper mills in Berlin and especially recently as Hancock prepared to divest itself of these lands. The most recent buyer will likely be hard pressed to regain his investment in a short period of time without also doing some land speculation. Perhaps a sale to the WMNF and pass-through sale of land for the federal prison will generate enough profit to satisfy the buyer and allow long term ownership of the remaining forestland.
Fortunately, there is no great demand right now for building lots in that area, but the future may bring an influx of new residents to operate a federal prison and the substandard housing in Berlin is not going to meet the demand for new housing. We might also someday see a number of hundred to thousand acre "kingdom lots" in the area if Dillon chose to follow the practices of some Maine forest liquidators.
The AMC posts an interactive map with conservation lands and recent land sales in the Northern Forest Region. You can locate the map through the Research icon on the web page at www.outdoors.org. At the time of this posting, the MeadWestvaco lands were shown on the map as being for sale. Those lands are now managed by Wagner Forest Management, Ltd. for the new anonymous owners. The Hancock Timber lands just acquired by Dillon were not shown. The map does show some Hancock parcels, some of which were in Dillon's earlier purchase. The map was last updated last August.
2006 Update: The Dillon Mahoosucs ownership in Success has undergone extensive logging and new road development since this column was originally posted. The state and local press have also written about unsustainable harvesting on the property and the Coos County Planning Board has been reviewing Dillon's forestry practices. Dillon has also banned New Hampshire Fish and Game biologists from entering the property unless accompanied by Dillon's employees. Oddly enough, Dillon's forester in Success is also the Coos County Fish and Game Commissioner for NH Fish & Game. Dillon has also sold a nearby Jericho forest tract of several thousand acres in Berlin to the state of New Hampshire for a state park to feature ATV trails. The logging on that tract has been described as similar to the timber baron harvesting of the White Mountains Region at the turn of the century and it is estimated by the forester for the new park that timber there will not recover for another forty years. Dillon has stated that he will subdivide and sell the land around the Nansen Ski Trail system on the north edge of the Mahoosuc Mountains if it is not selected as the site for a new federal prison. Nansen's lease has not been renewed and the ski club will have to find a new trail system in 2006. Bayroot, through Wagner Forest Management, has been harvesting their tracts at a heavy rate consistent with past industrial owners. Bayroot has also been marketing its smaller tracts for development potential at much higher value than previous timber sales.
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