The Center’s commitment to creating widely shared opportunity runs deep in Maine. We collaborate locally, regionally and with state partners to secure community benefits rooted in the interdependence of a vibrant economy, healthy ecosystem and an equitable society.
Millinocket
Millinocket, Maine, is a former paper mill town reinventing itself as the central destination within the Katahdin Region – home of the new Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument – and a welcoming community for new business ventures and residents. The Center has invested more than $1 million to improve rental housing and is collaborating on other key projects to improve economic development.
Western Maine
The Center is helping a 25-town region, including the hub communities of Bethel, Rumford, South Paris, and Norway, to address systemic rural challenges, build new opportunities in the forest economy and enhance community well-being through a collaboration known as Maine West.
Moosehead Region
People in the Moosehead Lake region of Maine recognize that a coordinated effort to improve local amenities will benefit both community members and the local tourism-based economy. The Center launched the Community Destination Academy here and has invested more than $200,000 in business innovation and community improvements.
Rangeley Region
A travel destination for 150 years, the Rangeley Lakes region is famous for fishing and outdoor recreation amid beautiful lakes and undeveloped ponds, vast conservation lands, and working forests.
Programs Serving Maine
Feel Good Heat
Through the Feel Good Heat marketing campaign, and its predecessor Model Neighborhood Program, the Center has expanded the use of wood pellets and chips for heat as a green replacement for fossil fuels.
Bike Borderlands
The Bike Borderlands initiative is helping two Maine destinations improve their trails and attract new riders as part of this regional mountain biking destination.
Wood Products Innovation
The Center’s Wood Products Innovation program helps businesses add new systems, equipment, marketing, and management to thrive.
Keep Up with Our Work in Maine
You can receive updates about the Center’s collaboration with Maine communities to help them achieve a vibrant economy, healthy ecosystem and an equitable society. Sign up here!
