Lepage Says He’ll Decide Which Land Deals Maine Will Fund

Gov. Paul LePage said this week that he plans to personally review and choose conservation and public easement projects before funding them with voter-approved bonds. His announcement has been met with dismay by land trusts and private landowners uncertain what criteria LePage plans to use in judging projects that have already received approval by a state board. LePage’s remarks are the latest twist in an increasingly political dispute in which his administration has already acknowledged that the governor is withholding $11.5 million for Land for Maine’s Future projects as a bargaining chip to advance his plan to increase timber harvesting on state-owned lands to pay for residential energy-efficiency programs.