Manulife reps introduce stewardship plan for Headwaters property, pledge local outreach

Representatives for Manulife visited the Pittsburg town board to introduce themselves and outline how they would manage the Headwaters property if the sale closes.

Bruce Perkey, who said he represents Manulife in the process, introduced two foresters: Annie Hossa, who manages Manulife's North and Northeast properties, and Matt Bond, the company's North American operations president. Bond said Manulife manages millions of acres and intends to apply local foresters and contractors here. "We do have foresters local on each one of those properties," Bond said, adding that Manulife "manages 3,500,000 acres across North America." Perkey and the foresters asked for dialogue with townspeople and promised follow-up meetings.

Manulife described a stewardship approach that balances harvest and conservation. Bond said the stewardship plan includes a minimum harvest level (he referenced 30,000 cords as a baseline) while keeping options open to sell carbon credits if markets make that attractive. "If the timber markets are outstanding, we're gonna cut as much timber as we are allowed to cut because that's what is gonna make the money," Bond said, while also saying the company seeks to be a "good neighbor" through communication and local contracting.

Residents raised concerns about past owners prioritizing carbon credits and restricting local access. Board members pressed Manulife on recreation (hunting, fishing, ATVs and snowmobiles), tax payments to towns, and how harvests would be distributed among the three affected towns. Bond said Manulife would aim to make towns whole based on historical revenue if market conditions or contractor availability limited harvests.

The board scheduled further citizen engagement: Manulife representatives said a citizens' committee would review the stewardship plan on Sept. 9 and that the company hoped to complete the purchase by the end of September if the review does not delay closing. The company offered to return for a larger, advertised public meeting if the sale is finalized.