If the question in the Millinocket area is whether the region’s future will be about either timber or tourism, the answer is, “Both.” This opportunity can be seen in a proposal to build a resort complex on Millinocket Lake; it’s a plan that relies on both aspects of the region’s economy.

For this reason, “it’s the type of development we need up here,” Town Manager Eugene Conlogue said.

Matt Polstein, owner of the successful New England Outdoor Center, which has operations in Millinocket and Caratunk, wants to build a new facility on the lake. To do so, he has an option to purchase 1,450 acres on the south shore of Millinocket Lake from Katahdin Timberlands. The company wants to build a high-end lodge and restaurant, and later clusters of cottages, near the lake, which offers a view of Mount Katahdin. Visitors will be able to hike, raft, fish, ski and snowmobile from the facility. Mr. Polstein also hopes to partner with groups that can add an educational component to the program.

To finance the purchase and to better position its operations, the outdoor center will sell some of its holdings on the Kennebec River. Mr. Polstein is devoting more of his attention to the Millinocket region because it provides more opportunities for diverse forms of year-round recreation and it has a better available work force.

The land that Mr. Polstein plans to buy was used primarily to grow firewood and was of low value to Katahdin Timberlands. As part of the purchase agreement, the woods company will buy other, more productive timberland. In addition, Mr. Polstein intends to continue harvesting wood on some of the parcel, so the local mills will see no decrease in their timber supply.

The best testament to the success of the New England Outdoor Center is that it is being emulated. A small facility on the Penobscot River on the road to Millinocket now advertises river trips and other businesses have begun to tout their connections to the ecotourism industry by offering camping supplies and overnight accommodations to hikers.

Millinocket has a haven for outdoor enthusiasts in its back yard. Baxter State Park is accessed through town, as is the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, West Branch of the Penobscot River and the vast North Maine Woods network. Yet, for a gateway community, it has few businesses that offer superior products to people passing through.

The New England Outdoor Center has proven that it can get visitors to stay overnight, eat a gourmet meal and participate in several different outdoor activities. Having more amenities like it offers will attract more people to the area and get them to stay longer – and, ultimately, to spend more money.

That sounds like something to encourage.