NEWRY – A member of Gov. John Baldacci’s steering committee on natural resource-based industries will deliver the keynote talk next week at the Androscoggin River Watershed Council’s annual conference at Sunday River Ski Resort.

On Tuesday at the “Outdoor Recreation and the Economy” conference, David Vail, a professor of economics at Bowdoin College, will speak on “Tourism Strategy for Maine’s North Woods: Getting to World Class.”

His talk summarizes four years of research and advisory work on the challenge of transforming Maine’s Northern Forest region into a world-class tourist destination, according to council member Fergus Lea in Auburn.

Lea said Vail has urged Maine and its five rural tourism regions to forge a three-part “big push” strategy.

Part one involves shaping the 2 million acres of existing protected lands into a Great Maine Woods Recreation Area. The second and third parts involve securing federal designation of a Maine Woods National Heritage Area and helping hundreds of tourism businesses – from outfitters to restaurants – deliver world-class product quality and livable-wage jobs, Lea said.

Vail is also the lead author and co-editor of “Health Care and Tourism: A Lead Sector Strategy for Rural Maine,” which was published last year by the Maine Center for Economic Policy.

At Bowdoin, he teaches an environmental studies seminar, “Sustaining Maine’s Northern Forest Region: Ecology, Economy and Community.”

The conference focuses on outdoor recreation and the economy surrounding the Androscoggin River from Lake Umbagog to Merrymeeting Bay. Speakers and sessions will cover topics ranging from the river’s coldwater and bass fisheries to motorized sports needs, shoreland development and outdoor tourism.

It will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 3:10 p.m. The cost is $25 for ARWC members and $40 for nonmembers. Registrations are still being accepted.

For more information, call 783-9186 or visit www.androscogginriver.org, or e-mail [email protected] or [email protected]. For a registration form and schedule, visit

http://www.avcnet.org/arwc/Community%20Connection%2001_08_08.pdf.