Loans Benefit Loggers, Environment
By Kevin Miller, Bangor Daily News, Maine
May 5–Maine forestry officials unveiled a new low-interest loan program Friday that is intended to help loggers invest in more environmentally friendly equipment.
Under the Maine Forestry Direct Link Loan Program, “green-certified” loggers and landowners can apply to receive a 2 percent interest rate reduction on financing for new eligible equipment. That would translate into a $23,000 savings over five years on a $400,000 loan, the maximum amount allowed.
Several forestry professionals have already taken advantage of the new program. But officials with the Maine Forest Service formally announced the program Friday during the 2007 Northeastern Forest Products Equipment Expo at Bangor’s Bass Park.
The expo, which wraps up today, is expected to draw about 7,000 people.
The purpose of the new low-interest loan program is to encourage forestry professionals to invest in new equipment that will better protect and improve water quality throughout Maine. Loans can be applied to a variety of equipment, ranging from harvesters to machinery related to bridges and culverts.
Alec Giffen, head of the Maine Forest Service, said he has seen dramatic improvements in water quality and waterway protection during his 35-plus years in the profession. He recalled flying over forestry sites and seeing siltation plumes clouding entire lake and river systems.
Improving water quality in Maine’s woods will help restore the state’s endangered Atlantic salmon populations as well as help maintain healthy populations of brook trout, both of which need clear water and gravelly stream bottoms, Giffen said.
Katherine Albert with the Maine Master Logger Certification Program said two professionals from Wallagrass in Aroostook County, Chris and Jacques Toussaint, recently purchased a new processor through the loan program.
The processor’s boom can reach 3 feet farther than their previous machine, which means fewer trails need to be cut through the woods. The men also use a laptop, GPS and topographical maps to chart their course around waterways. The processor also allows them to carry out the wood rather than dragging it through the forest, which can contribute to erosion problems.
Chris Martin, water resources forester with the Maine Forest Service, said the program also helps the state recognize loggers who are working responsibly in the woods.
“It’s nice for the Maine Forest Service to be able to give something back and to recognize hard work,” Martin said.
The Maine Forest Service will determine which equipment is eligible for the low-interest loans as well as whether applicants are certified. Martin pointed out that by participating in the program, loggers are agreeing to more frequent inspection by state staff.
Three consecutive water quality violations will result in the logger losing the 2 percent interest rate reduction, he said.
Approximately $3 million to $4 million from Maine’s Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund will be earmarked to the Forestry Direct Link Loan Program. Other program participants include the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, the Maine Municipal Bond Bank and five lending institutions.
For more information on the program, call (800) 367-0223 or go to www.maineforestservice.gov.
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Copyright (c) 2007, Bangor Daily News, Maine
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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