Jeff Thaler of Bernstein, Shur Appointed and Confirmed to Land for Maine’s Future Board

Attorney Jeffrey A. Thaler has been appointed by Gov. John Baldacci to the Land for Maine’s Future Board (LMFB), which oversees a statewide program created by the Maine Legislature to protect lands that have exceptional natural or recreational value. The Maine Senate last week unanimously confirmed Thaler’s nomination to the Board.

The LMFB consists of 11 members: six private citizens appointed by the Governor and approved by the Senate, and five Commissioners representing the departments of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Conservation, Marine Resources, Agriculture and the State Planning Office. Since its creation, the program has assisted in the acquisition of more than 139,000 acres from willing sellers, with an additional 53,500 acres protected through conservation easements.

“I am honored by the Governor’s and Senate’s support, and look forward to promoting and protecting our working farms, forests and waterfronts, rivers and mountains,” Thaler said.

Thaler, chairman of Bernstein, Shur’s Environmental Practice Group, is a resident of Yarmouth who also serves as treasurer and a director of the Environmental Energy Technology Council of Maine. He has been listed every year since 1988 in "Best Lawyers in America" for his environmental and natural resources law practice, and joined the firm in 1995. Thaler is a 1974 magna cum laude graduate of Williams College and received his J.D. in 1977 from Yale Law School.

Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson is one of northern New England's largest law firms, with more than 70 attorneys in offices in Portland and Augusta, Maine, and in Manchester, N.H. The firm provides legal services in all major subject areas, including corporate and commercial law, litigation and trials, municipal and governmental affairs, education law, construction, and tax and estate planning. Bernstein, Shur also has an active practice in bankruptcy, health law, environmental law, technology and commerce, employment law, legislative law, intellectual property, public utilities and other regulated industries. For more information on the firm, visit the Bernstein, Shur web site at www.bssn.com.
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