Building Strong Rural Communities

Vibrant communities attract people and businesses and communities with robust populations sustain essential services such as schools and healthcare.

With strong civic engagement and thriving downtowns, communities can invest in their future which includes stewarding the forest for future generations.

The Center is working intensively in five locations to build rural vibrancy. We respond to each community’s specific needs by partnering them to Strengthen Local Capacity, Build Active Communities, Invest in Place and Create Community Forests to build rural vibrancy.

How We Strengthen Communities

Strengthening Local Capacity

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What We're Doing

Building Active Communities

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What We're Doing

Investing in Place

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What We're Doing

Creative Community Forests

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What We're Doing

Our Impact

$21,600,000
Investments in Property Development and Community Projects
$150,000
Raised for Community Projects
256,540
Acres Conserved for Community Benefit

Center Provides Online Connection for Students

The Center and its partners in the Maine West coalition provided mobile hotspots to help students in Oxford Hills, Bethel, Rumford and the River Valley connect to online learning services. Read more

Program Updates

Lyndon Furniture continues to evolve 

Lyndon Furniture, a solid-wood furniture manufacturer, has a been mainstay of the Lyndon and St. Johnsbury community for nearly 50 years.

Community-led conservation protects 978 acres at Tumbledown Dick Mountain

In October 2026, a five-year effort culminated in the permanent conservation of 978 acres of woodlands and wetlands in Gilead, Maine, as Mahoosuc Land Trust took ownership of Tumbledown Dick Mountain.  

Leaving the forest in good hands

Julie Renaud Evans retires after more than two decades of guiding towns across the Northern Forest as they take their land into their own hands.

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