Indexing the forest

Though it has been four or five years since the proposals for cooperation among the heavily forested portions of the Northeast, the mere mention of “The Northern Forest” still elicits emotional denunciations from many here who viewed the plans as a land grab or, at best, unwarranted meddling by do-gooders and the government. So a new index of the region stretching from Eastern Maine to the Lake Ontario in New York is a risky venture. But in the case of an organization called the Northern Forest Center it is a risk that has produced an important document, one that should be discussed in depth in the coming years.

The Northern Forest Wealth Index is about the economy and the environment of the region but also about a lot more. It looks at what makes up a high quality of life and asks how (and whether) the region measures up. It lists indicators of social capital like voter participation and the number of libraries; it looks at health and safety measures and tries to determine levels of self-reliance and the diversity of employment opportunities; it takes stock of education and air quality, self-reliance and snowmobile trails. This isn’t a policy document; it doesn’t say what should be done and doesn’t speculate about various options. It simply tries to lay out where things stand. The project was undertaken by Mike Wilson, the center’s director, but had lots of advice and guidance from a variety of sources such as local educators, development experts, pulp and paper resource groups, area businesses and outdoors groups.

The region has a lot in common, good and bad. The good includes lower crime rates and higher voter participation, more community arts and local historical societies, ample access to the woods and rivers. On the other hand, transportation and infrastructure shortcomings transcend state boundaries. Young adults head south from St. Johnsbury, Vt., and St. John, Maine. Mill closings in New York look a lot like mill closings here. Economically, the most telling set of charts in the index looks over the years at employment in forest-product manufacturing (sloping down) and tourism (sloping up) and then at the salaries of those industries, with forest products high and tourism low. The trend is clear enough.

These benefits and challenges are not news to most people who live in the region, but without talking directly about these issues it is nearly impossible to preserve what is best about living here while battling what is killing it. The index emphasizes the requirement to first understand the cultural, social and economic histories before developing a plan based on what the public wants for the region and, as important, what it doesn’t want.

The index is valuable because it begins what should be an in-depth examination of how the region can pull together to help itself. Its two dozen measures are hardly comprehensive. In the few months since it has been released, the Wealth Index has provoked as many responses for more information as it provides. A conference in Jackson, N.H., is scheduled for April 18-20 to look further at the data, look for new information and look at the future of the region. It is a worthwhile endeavor that has gotten off to a good start with the index. For information about the conference, call the center at 603-229-0679.