Resolving Disputes in the Northern Forest: Lessons from the Connecticut and Moosehead Lakes

36 Pages Posted: 4 May 2011

Date Written: December 1, 2010

Abstract

The Northern Forest stretches across four states: from Northern New York, through Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. A historically undeveloped expanse of productive forestland, the Northern Forest has been owned and managed by pulp and paper companies for roughly a century. Recently, market forces have forced many of these companies to sell off substantial portions of their forestland to timber investment management organizations and private developers. As residential development threatens to change the character of the Northern Forest, the presence of these new owners has increased tensions between environmentalists, local land owners, and other stakeholders. This Note examines two recent land-use disputes among stakeholders in the Northern Forest. It then advocates using a consensus-building process of dispute resolution to reduce litigation costs, build working relationships, and produce creative solutions that substantively address stakeholder interests. This Note advocates a consensus-building approach for both private negotiations and provides guidance for its incorporation into a required agency regulatory framework.

Keywords: Environmental Dispute Resolution, Northern Forest, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York

Suggested Citation

Leoni, Ben, Resolving Disputes in the Northern Forest: Lessons from the Connecticut and Moosehead Lakes (December 1, 2010). Vermont Law Review, Vol. 35, p. 295, 2010 , Vermont Law School Research Paper, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1830250

Ben Leoni (Contact Author)

Vermont Law School ( email )

68 North Windsor Street
P.O. Box 60
South Royalton, VT 05068
United States

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