Conference seeks to sustain nature-based industries
AUGUSTA – How can Maine preserve its rural nature, but get the most out of the industries that rely upon them?
That’s the challenge presented by a governor’s conference on natural resource-based industries. The conference, set for Nov. 17, will explore ways to stabilize and sustain the state’s farming, fishing, forestry, marine and tourism industries.
Conference organizers acknowledge there’s a lot at stake. The fishing, farming and forestry industries alone provide 8.3 percent of Maine’s jobs and more than $3 billion, or 9.6 percent, of the gross state product. Combined with tourism, they account for about 20 percent of Maine’s economy. But more importantly, they preserve the rural nature of Maine: its vast forestlands, open pastures and orchards and fishing fleets.
“So much of what we base our quality of life on here is based on these industries,” said Laurie Lachance, state economist and one of the conference organizers. “If we don’t pay attention to these industries and we become another suburb of Boston, we won’t be Maine anymore.”
There are multiple threats facing these industries. Global competition has put increasing pressure on industries to develop value-added products and carve out market niches. Development pressures have converted 304,000 acres of forest and farmland to other uses in Maine since 1982.
Likewise, there are policy issues that cut across all segments of natural based industries. Tax policies and economic development incentives, as well as market development and support for small businesses, are among the topics for discussion.
Lachance said finding solutions for the common problems that face the natural-resources based industries would be more productive if they worked together. For instance, the aquaculture industry faces growing pressure from rising property valuations that make working waterfronts increasingly expensive to maintain. They could take a lesson from the forest people by looking at its Tree Growth Tax program, where land that is managed for wood harvest earns a tax break.
“If Tree Growth were extended to the fishing community, that could help alleviate pressures on them,” said Lachance.
Several state agencies have already filed reports and recommendations for the conference, which are available online at www.maine.gov/governor/baldacci/news/events/natres_conference_1003.html. Organizers hope attendees will familiarize themselves with the background information so that the conference can focus on solutions.
Among the recommendations is maximizing technology to add value to natural products. For instance, there are a dozen specific recommendations from the state’s Department of Conservation to improve the forest products industry, based on a premise that if Maine grows high-quality wood of valuable species in a wild setting, it can brand the products to gain an edge in the marketplace.
The department cited as an example the Maine Wood Products Association, which hired Auburn Enterprises to begin a program for merchandising green products. The program is focused on developing new global markets for Maine products made from certified, recovered and recycled wood fiber.
Lachance said it’s important for the conference to look at new ways to sustain these traditional industries. A state report released in 2001 corrected a misperception that the natural-resource based industries weren’t getting their fair share of state and federal assistance. To the contrary, they are getting more than twice what their contributions to Maine’s economy would warrant.
But most of the aid is in the form of tax breaks and loans. One recommendation is to divert more of the state and federal money from outright loans and tax breaks to technical assistance and training.
“There’s plenty of money going there,” said Lachance. “Still, things are not being acted upon, so it must be the wrong type of support. There must be a better way to funnel it.”
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