The view from a clearing in Bethel Community Forest in Maine. (Jerry Monkman photo)

Western Maine

The western Maine region stretches from Maine’s Western Foothills to the Mahoosuc Mountains along the New Hampshire border.

The 27-town region is defined by the boundaries of four school districts and encompasses roughly 600,000 acres of forests and farmland that support exceptional ecological diversity and climate resilience while providing a wide range of recreation and quality of life benefits for residents.

A map of the western Main region

Across this shared landscape, small towns are oriented around three hubs:

Norway-South Paris: the county seat and primary service center;
Bethel: a major outdoor recreation and skiing destination; and
Rumford: a traditional paper mill town and home to one of Maine’s 10 remaining active mills.

Since 2015, the Center has facilitated the Maine West collaboration , a network of 12 nonprofits dedicated to integrating conservation, education, health and economic initiatives to make the region’s rural communities attractive places to live, work, do business, and raise families.

More information about the collaborative’s programs is available on the Maine West website.

Building a New Forest Future in Western Maine

The Center’s work in western Maine focuses on the Maine West network’s key initiatives of Broadband, Conservation: Land and Trails, Active Communities, and Educational Aspirations and Attainment. In Bethel, Maine, the Center redeveloped the historic Gehring House to help meet demand for middle-market housing.

Expanding High Speed Internet

The Center helped communities position themselves to extend broadband service to 6,600 homes and businesses.

The Center’s Gehring House Renovation Wins Award

Maine Preservation recognized the Gehring House renovation with an award for outstanding redevelopment that saved a neglected community asset while preserving remarkable historic woodwork and craftsmanship.

Bethel Renovation Makes the Perfect Home

A young professional couple finds the perfect home in the Northern Forest Center's renovated Gehring House in Bethel, Maine.

From Uncertainty to Opportunity

When federal funding cuts cost Kristy her job in Washington, D.C., she faced a tough crossroad. [caption id="attachment_14080" [...]

New Apartment, New Chapter

Sharon and Seabury Lyon started a new chapter of their lives when they moved into the Center's newly renovated Gehring House.

Dartmouth Project Showcases Community Forests

Students at Dartmouth College have put together an immersive “StoryMap” to tell the Community Forest story, showcasing the wide range of benefits that communities gain from their forests

Conserving Tumbledown Dick Mountain

In April 2025, the Center’s Program Director, Julie Renaud Evans, kicked off an eight-month-long public engagement process – in partnership with the Mahoosuc Land Trust – to guide use and management of the Tumbledown Dick Mountain property in Gilead, Maine.

Creating a Community Forest in Otisfield, Maine

In partnership with the Western Foothills Land Trust and Otisfield Conservation Commission, the Center has kicked off the public planning process for the creation of an 85-acre Community Forest in western Maine.

More Projects in Western Maine

young women stands in office with workplace mentors

Advancing Career Pathways for Youth

The Maine West Initiative is supporting Extended Learning Opportunity Programs in five high schools in Western Maine, which connect youth to career exploration and pathways.

Learn more

people standing on woods road talking

Building Climate Resilience

The Center launched the Androscoggin Valley Community Forest Collaborative to bring together the committees and foresters of eight Community Forests located in the Androscoggin River watershed to explore collaborative opportunities and ways their conserved land can support local climate resilience.

Learn more

Staff Contacts

Mike Wilson

Senior Program Director

Cell: 603-731-0558

Amy Scott

Program Manager

Cell: 207-357-3189