Economic Benefits

A Strong Local Constituency

No other conservation project in Maine’s North Woods or the entire Northern Forest stretching from Maine to the Adirondacks has as strong a local constituency. In the Downeast Lakes, people’s work has been their source of intimate connection with the place.  Residents recognize the value of what they have and appreciate the traditional uses of the land. This initiative is a model for other community-based projects.

Diverse Support Locally and Beyond

Excitement about the project has generated widespread and increasing support, locally and nationally. The Passamaquoddy Tribe, an adjacent landowner with concerns and values similar to the residents of Grand Lake Stream, supports the project wholeheartedly. Domtar Industries, owner and operator of the pulp and paper mill at Baileyville, has endorsed this project because managers and employees believe its completion will help protect hundreds of mill jobs. The Princeton Rod and Gun Club, the Grand Lake Snowmobile Club, and the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine are strongly behind this project because it assures continued public access to these lands. Conservation groups—the National Wildlife Federation, the Northern Forest Alliance, the Maine Audubon Society, and the Nature Trust of New Brunswick––are also backers because the project will protect some of Maine’s most ecologically valuable lands and provide continuous wildlife habitat on more than a million acres across an international boundary. Local legislators have lent their support. Governor Baldacci, Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, and Representative Mike Michaud have signed on as honorary co-chairs of the campaign because they believe, as Governor Baldacci articulated in announcing his Maine Woods Legacy, that the project embodies “the joint economic development/resource conservation approach” best suited for Maine.  

Economic Impacts of the Farm Cove Community Forest

The Downeast Lakes Land Trust partnered with QLF/Atlantic Center for the Environment for continuing studies of the economic values of the Farm Cove Community Forest. Over time, the research will include not only the value of the timber harvested, but also the number of jobs directly and indirectly resulting from low-impact, highly selective forest management for high-quality wood products; the economic benefits of clean water, clean air, open space, protected wildlife habitat, pristine shorelines, green certification, reduced global warming, and local recreational opportunities; the value of protecting the existing sporting guide and camp industries; and the economic potential of new forms of ecotourism—a fast-growing industry with particular promise in the Downeast Lakes region with its existing infrastructure of lodges and registered Maine Guides.

Social and Cultural Benefits

The presence of the Downeast Lakes Land Trust has brought a growing array of educational and creative arts programs to the area. Of particular interest is a new wintertime speaker series in which prominent ecologists from Maine and beyond address community members on such topics as riparian protection, ecological reserves, biodiversity, wildlife habitat management, and value-added wood products. These sessions contribute to a common local knowledge base that can then be brought to bear on community forest management decisions. These lectures, along with land trust meetings in which members work together to make difficult decisions, build community capacity, social capital, and leadership skills.

Making a Difference in Washington County

Interior Washington County, is still rich in the natural resources on which its economy depends. Representatives of the Downeast Lakes Land Trust met with representatives of county interior communities to address their concerns and garner support for the project. Thirteen towns, along with the Passamaquoddy Tribe, stand to benefit. As the project expands beyond Grand Lake Stream, the economic, social, and cultural benefits are beginning to accrue to these towns as well. Learning to work together around a shared natural asset, instead of independently as in the past, is key to the future well-being of the tiny towns of interior Washington County. Community-based natural resource management advances civil society and democratic values, which will in turn move communities forward to a new economy and new livelihoods.