Firm Sells 1 Million Acres of Forest Land

Nearly 1 million acres of woodland in central Maine--5% of the state’s forests--were sold by one timber company to another, worrying environmentalists who fear the vast tract will be cut down or sold to developers. In one of the biggest land deals in Maine history, Seattle-based Plum Creek Timber Co. agreed to pay Sappi Fine Paper North America $180 million for 905,000 acres. Environmentalists had been pressing Maine Gov. Angus King to find a way to buy a large amount of Sappi’s land and establish a “Maine Woods National Park.” Sappi, a subsidiary of South Africa-based Sappi Ltd., did say it is offering to sell the state of Maine property rights to most of 29 miles along the shore of Moosehead Lake and 15 miles along both sides of the Kennebec River’s West Outlet.