BEYOND PAPER

Talk of diversifying the Washington County economy and developing niche markets for Maine paper mills are both on target, but will do little to help the 150 people put out of work by Domtar Inc.’s paper machine shut down in Baileyville. It may be a bit much to expect that other jobs be available for the workers, but given the decline of papermaking work in Maine and elsewhere, the shutdown was not a complete surprise. Neither is the fact that economic opportunity is limited in Washington County. Put the two together and it is beyond time for local and state leaders to seriously look for solutions.

After saying in June that it was temporarily shutting down the paper machine at the Baileyville mill, Canadian-based Domtar announced this week that the shutdown was permanent and that 150 people would be put out of work. The mill’s pulp operation, which employs about 300 people, will continue. Domtar mills in Quebec and Wisconsin and a converting facility in Ontario were also closed.

The company blamed poor market conditions for the closures.

This story is not new to Maine. In recent years, nearly every paper mill in the state either has been sold, gone through bankruptcy or closed. According to a briefing paper prepared in 2004 for the U.S. House Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health, more than 50,000 pulp and paper mill jobs have been lost nationwide since the mid-’90s. From 1990 to 2003, more than 900 mills, pulp and paper plants and other forest product plants were closed nationwide.

Maine has had success stories such as the recent installation of a new paper machine at Lincoln Tissue & Paper Co., the first major upgrade at a Maine mill in 15 years. In the Millinocket area, Katahdin Paper employs 500 people between its two mills, less than half the number that worked there when the mills were shuttered by Great Northern Paper’s bankruptcy in 2002. The area is slowly turning more toward tourism to boost its economy.

In Old Town, the former Georgia-Pacific mill now houses several tenants that together employ about 200. One project involves University of Maine researchers extracting ethanol from wood pulp, something Domtar is interested in.

Still, the trend is clear – no matter how many innovative deals are negotiated, the number of paper mill jobs will continue to decline in Maine. This is a hard lesson for places that depend heavily on the mills. Saving jobs in a lagging industry is commendable. Creating new ones in a growing business is equally necessary.

A summit today of state agencies and Washington County officials is necessary, but without new ideas and resources, not much is likely to come of such conversations.

Two years ago, Gov. John Baldacci tasked former Central Maine Power Co. President David Flanagan with developing a plan to revitalize Washington County. What he suggested was not surprising: spending more money to attract tourists to the county, more financial incentives for businesses, energy alternatives and lower health care costs. As for why past efforts have not helped, Mr. Flanagan said too little funding has been directed at too many projects, funding has focused on agency programs rather than removing business hurdles, and no one has responsibility for expected results.

Without addressing these long-standing problems, there are no quick solutions to the county’s or the paper industry’s woes.