Quality of place is essential to Maine

What does revitalizing Bangor’s and Brewer’s 19th-century downtowns have to do with conserving miles of rugged shoreline in eastern Maine and whole townships of unbroken forest in northern Maine?

Both help define Maine’s reputation for quality places, a key to our future prosperity. It’s the reason why a city manager from Biddeford and a regional land trust president from Topsham who have never met before are working together to support a sustainable economic development policy for Maine.

During the last 2 1/2 decades, Maine has lost a measure of what makes this state special. Between 1980 and 2000, some 870,000 acres of farmland and forests were converted into suburbia – an area roughly the size of Rhode Island. At the same time, many handsome old factories and downtowns were abandoned as government failed to respond to the flight of manufacturing jobs, retail stores and residents.

Seventy percent of Mainers now live outside of our historic core communities. This is wasteful and expensive. We are left with wonderfully useful, but empty upper floors of many downtown buildings, and we are saddled with a spread out population that is incredibly expensive to service. That this has happened is all the more alarming because it happened during a period of slow population growth and during one of the most productive land conservation eras in Maine history.

Mainers can take pride in accomplishments to date. Large tracts of working forestland have been protected around Moosehead Lake, valuable wildlife habitat secured in the St. John River Valley, and important recreational land permanently protected Down East. Many natural areas near populated areas have also been conserved for the benefit of hikers, hunters, snowmobilers and other outdoor enthusiasts.

But in spite of all we’re doing, we are still losing what’s special about Maine. A more strategic economic development approach is needed, and one is spelled out in the recently released Brookings report sponsored by GrowSmart Maine.

The Brookings Plan calls for a mix of targeted investments, government savings through administrative efficiencies, and a reduction of Maine’s tax burden. One of the targeted investments is the creation of a $190 million Maine Quality Places Fund. This fund will support the acquisition of additional open land threatened by development, including land important for fishing, hunting and boating access. It would also direct money toward regional tourism promotion to bolster the state’s largest industry.

But that’s only part of the deal. The Maine Quality Places Fund would also invest in the revitalization of our neighborhoods and downtowns, attracting new residents and businesses, and fostering the creative and entrepreneurial environment that will drive our future economy. Maine’s towns and cites contain distinctive elements – working waterfronts like Stonington’s, historic downtowns like Bath’s, and traditional neighborhoods like Rumford’s – that give Maine its special character as much as Mount Katahdin, the Allagash River, and Acadia National Park.

Rural and urban Maine need each other. Rural residents need the services found in more built-up communities. Urban residents need the open spaces found in outlying areas.

In the old days, Maine people were led to believe we had to choose between our quality of life and economic development. Our endless postcard views were taken for granted as charming backdrops, but essentially worthless as economic development assets. This attitude is captured in the deadpan retort of the old-timer to the giddy tourist gushing about picturesque Maine: “Yeah, but can’t eat the scenery.” This perception is no longer the case, even if it is still literally true. One of Maine’s real strengths in the modern economy is our landscape – our mix of small towns, farms, forests, working waterfronts and accessible wild places. Maine’s charisma is a big reason why people are moving to Maine again, according to Brookings.

Our quality of place is as essential to our economic well-being as our road network and educational system. We need to protect and invest in it, if we are to prosper as a state in the 21st entury.

Land conservation and downtown development go hand in hand. The more we invite development in our town centers and downtowns, the more we reduce development pressure in rural areas. By investing in both our town centers and our rural countryside, we help ensure the future vitality of our communities – with housing Mainers can afford, productive farms, forests and waterfronts close to home and accessible natural lands that enrich our lives.

The Brookings report offers a rare opportunity for people who haven’t worked together in the past to join in common cause.

While we still can’t “eat the scenery,” truly Maine’s quality of place sustains our economy and provides urban and rural Mainers’ need for fresh air, recreation and a connection to nature.

John Bubier is the city manager of Biddeford. Jay Espy is president of Maine Coast Heritage Trust.