Friends of Merrymeeting Bay’s (FOMB) second presentation of its 19th annual Winter Speaker Series: LMF & Public Forests Under Attack; features Pete Didisheim, Advocacy Director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine. The event takes place Wednesday, November 11th, 7:00pm at the Bridge Academy in Dresden, is free and open to the public.

For months, Governor LePage has refused to sign off on Land for Maine’s Future (LMF) bonding, putting numerous land protection projects and the future of Maine’s most popular bond issue in jeopardy. The governor says he’ll release the bonds only if lawmakers agree to his plan to increase timber harvesting on state-owned lands. LePage has said money from selling the timber would go toward heating assistance.

Despite any possible merits of his plan for harvesting timber on state lands, that proposal should be debated on its own, not used to stop land preservation deals, many, years in the making. The Governor already approved LMF bond issues after the legislature and before they were put on the ballot. Of course Maine voters as usual, voted resoundingly for LMF bonding. Many argue the Governor is interfering with our most basic democratic process, a direct vote by the people of Maine.

Pete Didisheim has served as NRCM’s Advocacy Director since 1996. Pete provides overall strategic leadership to NRCM’s advocacy staff, assisting in the design and implementation of issue campaigns, legislative initiatives and public education efforts. He is NRCM’s senior advocate before the Legislature and has served on task forces and stakeholder groups charged with shaping Maine’s environmental policies. Among numerous prior positions, Pete has been chief of staff for U.S. Congressman George Brown, Jr. (D-CA), Deputy Chief of Staff of the House Science Committee, and special assistant to U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Hazel R. O’Leary.

FOMB hosts their Winter Speaker Series October-May on the second Wednesday of each month. The December 9th presentation Fishermen, Farmers, and Indians Too: 300 years on Hermit Island 1650-1950 features Christopher Sewall, Hermit Island historian. Speaker Series presentations are always free and open to the public and supported by Patagonia, Inc. in Freeport. Visit www.fomb.org to see speaker biographies, full event schedules, become a member, and learn more about how you can help protect beautiful Merrymeeting Bay.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Call Kathleen McGee, 666-3598
fomb@comcast.net

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