Plum Creek to Present New Concept Plan to the Land Use Regulation Commission for its Lands in the Moosehead Region; Company Responds to Community Input with Significantly Revised Plan that Provides Permanent Conservation.

FAIRFIELD, Maine -- Plum Creek Timber Company (NYSE:PCL) today announced that it will submit its revised Concept Plan to the Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC) next week. The new Plan includes significant and important changes from the previous Plan; changes that reflect many months of meeting with and listening to members of the community who expressed the need to carefully balance economic development with maintaining the values and traditions of northern Maine.

New Plan Includes Permanent Conservation -- Protects Working Forests and Ensures Traditional Public Access for Recreation

"We clearly heard that members of the community wanted more permanent conservation in the Plan," said Jim Lehner, general manager, Northeast Region. "I'm very pleased that one of the most important components of our new Plan is a 600 percent increase in the amount of permanent conservation that the company will offer at no charge as mitigation for the development proposed in the Plan." As part of the Plan, Plum Creek will donate a 61,000-acre conservation easement to the Forest Society of Maine upon approval of the Plan. The Plan calls for an additional 10,000 acres of conservation easements that would be granted to protect lakes, ponds and streams.

As announced on March 30, Plum Creek has reached an agreement in principle with The Nature Conservancy to sell land and conservation easements that, when combined with the conservation provided for in the Plan, will result in more than 90 percent of the Plan area being permanently conserved if the Plan is approved. The company was able to reach this solution through close collaboration with three highly respected conservation organizations.

Plum Creek has partnered with The Nature Conservancy, The Forest Society of Maine and The Appalachian Mountain Club to create a Conservation Framework that envisions permanent protection for more than 400,000 acres in Maine's North Woods, including 45,200 acres around Number 5 Bog. Plum Creek worked closely with these conservation organizations to propose protection for some of the company's most significant land and water resources in Maine.

This Framework, which includes the second largest conservation easement in the United States, provides permanent conservation for high value areas, maintains intact working forests and ensures traditional public access for recreation.

"The Conservation Framework identifies how the lands with the highest conservation values can be preserved, and forest resources maintained for the economic benefit and recreational enjoyment of future generations," said Alan Hutchinson, director of The Forest Society of Maine. "Hunting, fishing, camping and other traditional recreational activities will be assured, valuable fish and wildlife habitats will be protected, and communities will benefit as these lands are sustainably managed for recreational activities and forest products."

Development Component Has Been Reduced -- Preserves the Region's Remote Character and Resort Tradition and Stimulates Economic Prosperity

In response to requests from members of the community, Plum Creek also made important changes to the development component of its Plan including a substantial reduction in the development acreage and moving it closer to existing towns.

"Members of the community told us that development was important because it would stimulate economic prosperity in the region," explained Lehner. "But, they asked us to move our development closer to their towns. We responded to this request by relocating the majority of the development closer to the existing growth area between the towns of Greenville and Rockwood."

Other important changes to the development component of the Plan include:

--Removes development from all the remote ponds and reduces the number of shorefront lots;

--Revives the grand Maine tradition of resorts first in the Greenville area by revitalizing the Big Moose Mountain area with a Nordic ski center and a four-season resort highlighted by a 50 kilometer Nordic ski and bike trail system designed by John Morton;

--Scales back the proposed resort at Lily Bay by more than 80 percent. Lily Bay would be re-characterized as a lakefront resort reminiscent of the historical Kineo Resort, though a fraction of its size;

--Removes campgrounds, remote cabins, sporting camps and the request for additional commercial industrial zoning.

The new Plan also grants permanent trail easements on 144 miles of snowmobiling, hiking, and biking trails, including 12 new miles for the Maine Huts and Trails corridor. These trails, along with the Nordic ski and bike trail noted above, would help support the recreation economy through traditional access and use.

"While some members of the community wanted more economic stimulus, others wanted less," said Craig Watt, a resident of Greenville. "We believe this revised Plan strikes the right balance between preserving what is so special in the Moosehead region and generating sufficient economic activity so existing communities can prosper."

According to Dr. Charles Colgan of the Muskie Institute at the University of Southern Maine, the fully implemented new Plan will generate 1,300 jobs over the long term and increase personal income by $61 million. Local communities would realize an additional $1.38 million of tax revenues. The recreational features of the Plan, including the trails and two nature-based resorts are expected to add $25 million in new recreation spending.

The revised Plan also includes a Community Fund funded from development that would support schools, trails and other local initiatives.

"This new Plan is the product of input from hundreds of members of the community who cherish the Moosehead region," said Lehner. "It also reflects input from numerous organizations including those who were critical of our previous Plan. And, it reflects a spirit of cooperation as evidenced in our collaboration with The Nature Conservancy, the Forest Society of Maine and the Appalachian Mountain Club.

"Plum Creek is grateful to the many individuals and organizations that helped us identify ways to achieve important compromises that balance economic development with maintaining the values and traditions of northern Maine. We believe we've achieved this balance with this new Plan and hope that members of the community will too."

Plum Creek is the largest and most geographically diverse private landowner in the nation, with more than 8 million acres of timberland in major timber producing regions of the United States and 10 wood products manufacturing facilities in the Northwest. Since 1989, the company has participated in conservation transactions on nearly half a million acres of its lands across the country. Plum Creek owns and manages more than 929,000 acres of timberland in Maine.