LEWISTON, Maine -- "Voting on the Future of Maine's Forest," a panel discussion on the statewide forestry referendum "An Act Regarding Forestry Practices," will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2, the Edmund S. Muskie Archives at Bates College. The public is invited to attend this presentation sponsored by the Muskie Archives Speakers Series free of charge.

Robert Wagnor, University of Maine, Orono; Harry Dwyer, Small Wood Lot Owners Association of Maine (SWOAM); and Charles Fitzgerald, Forest Ecology Network and RESTORE, comprise the panel. Peter Palmiotto, assistant professor of environmental studies, Bates College, will moderate.

Fitzgerald will discuss "What is a forest?" A 30-year Maine environmental activist, organic farmer and manager and part owner of 10,000 acres of Maine woodland, he owns a wood products retail store in Bar Harbor. Fitzgerald is a member of the board of directors for RESTORE and Forest Ecology Network.

Dwyer will present "How the Referendum Affects Small Wood Lot Owners." A University of Maine, Orono, agriculture and resource economics graduate, Dwyer is obtaining his master's in forestry. He is a licensed forester and woodscaler and board member of both SWOAM and the Kennebec County Farm Bureau.

Wagnor will discuss "Scientific Basis and Implications for 'An Act Regarding Forest Practices.'" With 20 years of experience conducting forest ecology and silviculture research across North America, Wagnor is associate professor of forest ecosystem science, director of the Cooperative Forestry Research Unit and leader of the Forest Ecosystem Research Program at the University of Maine, Orono.

For more information call 207-786-8367.