Sec. 6. 12 MRSA §8885, sub-§4-A is enacted to read:

4-A.__Public information.__Except as provided in this subsection and notwithstanding Title 1, section 402, subsection 3, paragraph B, information contained in reports filed under this section on or after October 1, 1999 for forest landowners owning more than 20,000 acres is public information and must be made available to the public by the Maine Forest Service in an annual report released by March 31st of each year.__Information on stumpage prices and volumes of species harvested by product type for an individual landowner is confidential and may not be made public.

SUMMARY

This bill makes the following changes to the laws governing reports concerning forest practices activities.

1. It makes annual wood processing reports available to the public, but specifies that volume information in wood processor reports and information in forest landowner reports submitted prior to October 1, 1999 remain confidential.

2. It requires landowners owning more than 20,000 acres to report information regarding the establishment of plantations.

3. It makes harvest reports of landowners owning more than 20,000 acres available to the public but specifies that individual landowner reports regarding stumpage prices and volumes of species harvested by product type remain confidential.

4. It requires the Maine Forest Service to produce an annual report containing the forest practices information made public by this bill.