With targeted investment, the natural beauty of Maine’s coast, lakes, forests and fields and the man-made charms of its 19th century cities, towns and villages can produce jobs, the Governor’s Council of Maine’s Quality of Place has concluded. The council issued its final report recently, which included 10 recommendations for making those investments. Gov. Baldacci has pledged to put the recommendations at the top of the Legislature’s to-do list for the next session.

Persuading taxpayers to spend on an effort that might be described as polishing the state’s image will be a hard sell. But the council’s recommendations are largely practical and would likely produce results. And if the council is right, Maine’s quality of place is its chief economic asset, and neglecting it is not an option.

The strategies are tied to a concerted effort to bring people to Maine. The state’s slow population growth threatens to stall any economic growth. And beyond merely putting up a “vacancy” sign, the quality of place council’s recommendations are tailored to bringing specific groups of people to Maine, each known to produce positive economic benefits.

The council argues that “a more prosperous Maine is directly and inextricably tied to the exceptional qualities of this place, our state and to our ability in a competitive world to attract and keep people. … We must attract new ‘buyers’ – visitors, retirees, businesses and skilled workers – to Maine,” the report asserts.

Five of the 10 recommendations are directed at the state’s postsecondary educational systems. The council urges both the Maine Community College System and the University of Maine System to designate studies in hospitality and leisure as important academic disciplines. A trained work force, ready to manage hotels, inns and restaurants in a highly competitive tourism market, will sustain Maine’s reputation as a warm and friendly place, while also meeting the expectations of an increasingly discriminating traveling public.

The report also urges the university system to designate community planning and architectural design as a critical discipline, and recommends that the Community College System include training in “historic preservation, high-quality building techniques, and traditional and contemporary crafts art.” Too often, Maine’s small cities and towns work to reinvent the wheel as they struggle to revive their historic downtowns; homegrown expertise will be welcomed.

The report also bluntly urges the state to work to ensure that private landowners continue to allow public access. This will involve some diplomacy and concessions on the part of policymakers, but it is critical when most of Maine is privately owned.

And finally, the report is equally blunt in recommending the governor and Legislature adopt “a clear, unequivocal policy statement in support of Maine community downtown revitalization.” This is where money is critical. Many cities and towns saw federal and state money support revitalization efforts in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It’s time to initiate another wave of investment; the report suggests using bonds.

The council’s most important work may be successfully putting a Maine accent on the 2006 Brookings Institution report that, with its “outsider” objectivity, essentially told state leaders they were missing what was truly marketable about Maine.