A large portion of northern New Hampshire is up for sale. International paper today announced plans to sell more than 170-thousand acres of forest lands that comprise the northern tip of the state. The announcement throws into question the future of the North Country's timber-based economy.
NHPR's Doug MacPherson reports.
TO MOST OBSERVERS, NEWS OF THE SALE CAME AS NO GREAT SURPRISE. INTERNATIONAL PAPER CORPORATION ACQUIRED THE LAND LAST YEAR AS PART OF ITS BUY-OUT OF CHAMPION INTERNATIONAL. I-P REFUSED TO ALLOW ANY OF ITS LAND MANGERS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE TO COMMENT ON THE SALE, BUT A COMPANY SPOKESMAN SAYS I-P WENT INTO DEBT TO MAKE RECENT ACQUISITIONS � AND IT NEEDS TO SELL SOME ASSETS TO PAY OFF THAT DEBT. THE COMPANY HOPES TO FIND A BUYER WITHIN A YEAR.
THE QUESTION IS � WHO WILL THAT BUYER BE, AND WHAT WILL THEY WANT TO USE THE LAND FOR? THE SIZE OF THE PROPERTY IS ENORMOUS
� ABOUT ONE FORTH THE SIZE OF THE ENTIRE WHITE MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST. IT ENCOMPASSES ALMOST ALL OF NORTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE, INCLUDING THE HEADWATERS OF THE CONNECTICUT RIVER, AND RARE HABITAT FOR PLANTS AND ANIMALS. PAST OWNERS HAVE TRADITIONALLY ALLOWED PUBLIC ACCESS FOR HUNTING, FISHING, BOATING, AND SNOW MOBILING. SENATOR JUDD GREGG DESCRIBES THE LAND SALE AS A MAJOR ISSUE FOR THE ENTIRE STATE.
TAPE GREGG, TRACK 23 010 to a large degree the state is defined by the north country in my opinion and the character of the north country, which involves jobs in the woods, people working in different jobs that are tied to silviculture, ///// 048 so its important that we as a state pull together and see what we can do to maintain the traditional uses of these lands. And that�s something I�m going to work very hard on.
THE PROBLEM IS, SOFTWOOD TIMBER ON THE LAND WAS HEAVILY CUT IN THE LATE 70�S AND EARLY 80�S TO COUNTER A SPRUCE BUD WORM INFESTATION. SOME CRITICS SAY IT WAS SIMPLY OVERCUT. IN ANY CASE, ACCORDING TO PAUL DOSCHER, LAND CONSERVATION DIRECTOR FOR THE SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF NEW HAMPSHIRE FORESTS � GONE ARE THE DAYS WHEN A WOOD PRODUCTS COMPANY WOULD HOLD ONTO A TRACT OF LAND FOR DECADES, WAITING FOR THE TREES TO GROW BACK.
TAPE PAUL DOSCHER DIRECTS LAND CONSERVATION FOR THE SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF NEW HAMPSHIRE FORESTS. 089 the multinational corporations that are the holding companies for most of the paper industry look at these on a world wide level. //// when they look at these lands and now see what their capacity is relative to land in brazil, or land in milasia or whoever,/// even in south Carolina, these are relatively low production lands, relative to their costs. /// it�s something they don�t really want to carry.
DOSCHER FEARS THAT A NEW BUYER MAY HAVE NO INTEREST IN MAINTAINING A WORKING FOREST.
TAPE PAUL DOSCHER 118 the next landowner may say, I�m not interested in public access, and close it off. Or they may say, I�m not interested in keeping the land in forests and I�m going to sell off the frontage lots on every pond and stream /// to make my money through real estate development.
FOR HIS PART, SENATOR GREGG PROMISES TO LEAD AN EFFORT TO PURCHASE A CONSERVATION EASEMENT ON THE LAND THAT WOULD FORESTALL DEVELOPMENT, BUT LEAVE IT OPEN FOR TIMBER HARVESTING AND RECREATIONAL USE. HE SAYS A ROUGH ESTIMATE OF THE COST WOULD BE BETWEEN 15 AND 20-MILLION DOLLARS, AND WOULD REQUIRE A COMBINED EFFORT ON THE PART OF FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENT, LOCAL RESIDENTS, CONSERVATION GROUPS, AND THE FOREST PRODUCTS INDUSTRY.
TAPE GREGG, TRACK 27 038 we know what has to be done, and the bottom line is finding the money. And in the end, I believe that this is such an important issue that we�ll find the money, at least that�s my hope.
GREGG SAYS THAT FAILURE WOULD LIKELY RESULT IN THE PROPERTY BEING LOST FOREVER. FOR N-H-P-R NEWS, I�M D.M.
