Me. Rev. Stat. » Title 36
Maine Revised Statutes

Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 36, § 572 (2026)

Purpose

✓ current as of May 2026
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It has for many years been the declared public policy of the State of Maine, as stated in sections 563 and 564, to tax all forest lands according to their productivity and thereby to encourage their operation on a sustained yield basis. However, the present system of ad valorem taxation does not always accomplish that objective. It has caused inadequate taxation of some forest lands and excessive taxation and forfeiture of other forest lands.   [PL 1979, c. 127, §196 (AMD).]
It is declared to be the public policy of this State that the public interest would be best served by encouraging forest landowners to retain and improve their holdings of forest lands upon the tax rolls of the State and to promote better forest management by appropriate tax measures in order to protect this unique economic and recreational resource.   [PL 1971, c. 616, §8 (NEW).]
This subchapter implements the 1970 amendment of Section 8 of Article IX of the Maine Constitution providing for valuation of timberland and woodlands according to their current use by means of a classification and averaging system designed to provide efficient administration.   [PL 1973, c. 308, §1 (NEW).]
Therefore, this subchapter is enacted for the purpose of taxing forest lands generally suitable for the planting, culture and continuous growth of forest products on the basis of their potential for annual wood production in accordance with the following provisions.   [PL 1971, c. 616, §8 (NEW).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 1971, c. 616, §8 (NEW). PL 1973, c. 308, §1 (AMD). PL 1979, c. 127, §196 (AMD).
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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4 cases, 1998–2020 · leading case: Chase v. Town of MacHiasport, 1998 ME 260 (Me. 1998).
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Chase v. Town of MacHiasport, 1998 ME 260 (Me. 1998). “” 36 M.R.S.A. § 572 (1990). 7 . Most of the comparables used had public road access, in contrast to the Chase lot, and most had electricity.”
Tyvoll v. Hughes (Me. Super. Ct 2017). · cites it 2× “Accordingly, then, the question is what is the effect of the use of the Tree Growth Act in the primary use of the "private roads" in question? The Tree Growth Tax Law is found in 36 M.R.S. § 572 et seq. In its purpose, the legislature states that for many years the public policy…”
Roque Island Gardner Homestead Corp. v. Town of Jonesport (Me. Super. Ct 2020). · cites it 2× “The Farm and Open Space Tax Law was passed to encourage the preservation of farmland and open space and allows landowners to obtain reduced valuation rates set by the State Tax Assessor on qualifying farmland and open space.”
Roux v. Gammon (Me. Super. Ct 2011). “36 M.R.S. § 572. Contrary to Roux' claims, there is no 6 Whether the conveyance is properly classified as an exception or a reservation is of no consequences for the purpose of this motion.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.