Publications
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New Report:
Rediscovering
Forgotten Asset: Trails for the 21st Century 2008
(executive summary PDF)
Rediscovering
Forgotten Asset: Trails for the 21st Century 2008
(methodology report PDF- 1.5mg)
The aim of this project was to develop a model by which small towns and rural areas can more easily identify and develop off-road walking and biking facilities in order to generate a favorable “social climate” for increased physical activity and connection to the natural environment.
The study encompassed the river communities along the lower Kennebec River from Augusta to Bowdoinham and three communities in the Cobbosseecontee Lakes region. The 14 communities that form this region include: Augusta, Hallowell, Farmingdale, Gardiner, Richmond, Dresden, Bowdoinham, Chelsea, Randolph, Pittston, Dresden, Manchester, Winthrop, and Monmouth. The Lower Kennebec River region of Maine is not usually thought of as having significant potential for hiking and biking. An earlier mapping project by the Friends of the Kennebec River Rail Trail (Lower Kennebec River Trails Inventory, completed in January, 2005) suggested otherwise for that study found 125 miles of trails or corridors that might have potential as trails. The Mainewatch Institute’s project built upon that earlier work and looked more intensely at what resources may exist in this area.
Energy
for Maine's Future: A Call for Leadership. 2002 (.6MG
PDF)
This report, produced by the Mainewatch Institute in
partnership with the Natural Resources Council of Maine and
the Maine Center for Economic Policy, proposes a strategy
for regaining Maine's lost leadership on energy issues. It
includes recommendations for the most important actions that
should be included in a high profile energy initiative
pursued by Maine's Governor and Legislature and implemented
statewide. The report is intended to spur Maine's political,
business, and community leaders to embrace a common vision
of a sustainable energy system, and to take steps to turn
that vision into a reality.
Funding
Forest Certification. 2001 (56k PDF)
There is a growing niche market for wood products that come
from environmentally certified forests. Certification
programs measure current forest management practices against
a set of environmental management standards. According to
forest certification organizations, small landowners face
higher per acre costs for forest certification due to
economies of size. This study, jointly sponsored by the
Mainewatch Institute and the Maine Center for Economic
Policy, ascertains the likely market reactions to a
tax/subsidy program to support forest certification for
Maine's smaller landowners. The study was funded by the W.
Alton Jones Foundation in their interest to advance tax
shifts that improve environmental quality.
State
Initiatives for Clean Energy Development. 2001 (1.6MG
PDF)
As a result of energy policies in the 1980s, in 2000 Maine
derived a greater proportion of its electricity from clean
renewable energy sources than any other state. However, both
existing clean energy generators, as well as future
generation using clean renewable energy resources are under
threat from a combination of cost-related factors that place
their generation at significant disadvantage to generation
that uses more traditional sources of fuel. This study,
funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, was
undertaken to help preserve the benefits of clean energy
development in Maine by identifying policy and market
options that support the production of energy from clean
energy sources.
An
Analysis of Maine/Canada Trade with Policy Recommendations.
January 1995 (2.9MG PDF)
Maine's level of trade with Canada has not been broadly
analyzed beyond the general opinion that more is better.
What market sectors are currently seeing the most activity
and why? Why is there a trade imbalance, and what
initiatives should be undertaken to increase Maine
manufacturing exports to Canadian provinces? This study
analyzes Maine's level and type of trade with Canada as
compared to other states, explores the real and perceived
barriers to increased trade, and presents clear
recommendations to increase the level of export of Maine
manufactured goods.
Energy
Choices Revisited: An Examination of the Costs and Benefits
of Maine Energy Policy. 1994 (4.9MG PDF)
In the late 1970's, Maine led the nation in adopting
policies to increase energy efficiency and to shift the
state's reliance from oil to renewable and indigenous energy
sources. Little more than a decade later, much controversy
surrounds the effects these policies had in determining
Maine's current energy sources and the costs paid by Maine
utilities and ratepayers. Mainewatch undertook an objective
analysis of the economic and environmental impacts resulting
from these energy conservation programs. In particular, it
explored the power purchases from independent power
producers by Maine utilities in response to Maine Public
Utilities Commission (PUC) rulings. This study was funded by
the U.S. Department of energy, the Energy Foundation (a
partnership of the Catherine T. and John D. MacArthur
Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trust) and other private
sources. It is being made available through both the
Mainewatch Institute and the American Council for an
Energy-Efficient Economy.
Families
and Forests: Improving Prosperity through the Secondary Wood
Products Industry in the Western Mountains of Maine.
1992 (1.1MG PDF)
In the Western Mountain Region of Maine (Oxford, Somerset,
and Piscataquis Counties), the forest dominates the
physical, historical, and economic landscapes. Although
paper production accounts for most of the wood-cased
economy, there also exists a significant secondary wood
products industry made up of manufacturing enterprises that
add value to lumber, either through completed wood products
or wooden components. This study evaluates the pressures
facing this secondary wood-products industry and outlines
methods of improvising long-term prospects for this
industry. Funding or in-kind support was provided by the
Aspen Institute for Rural Resources and Poverty; The
Betterment Fund; Coastal Enterprises, Inc.; Western Mountain
Alliance; and the University of Maine.
Green
Development, Balancing Development with Conservation: Nine
Case Studies of Rural Subdivisions. 1992 (2MG PDF)
This report shows, by example, how attractive and profitable
residential subdivision development can be achieved in rural
areas while helping to conserve open space in the community.
It explores general principles of 'good development' and
discusses why planning for open space makes economic sense.
Through case studies, it shows how a balance can be achieved
among aesthetic, social, environmental, and financial
considerations of development projects. Funding was provided
by the Island Foundation, Inc.; Richard Rockefeller; the
Sprague foundation, The Maine Community Foundation, The
McCue Family fund, Maine Tomorrow; and the Davis Foundation.
Green Development was distributed to every municipality in
Maine for use as a planning tool, and has also been ordered
by over 50 communities throughout the United States.
The
Western Mountains of Maine: Toward Balanced Growth.1989
(12MG PDF)
The Maine Western Mountains project was organized in early
1987. The goal of the project was the design and
implementation of a practical, appropriate and sustainable
growth strategy to improve job opportunities for the people
of the region and, at the same time, to protect and enhance
their exceptional history, culture and natural resources in
a time of rapid and often dramatic changes. This report
describes the broad stakeholder-driven process used to
arrive at its recommendations, and outlines a balanced
growth strategy for the region.
Maine's
Forest Economy: Crisis or Opportunity? 1988 (2.3MG
PDF)
The future of much of Maine's natural diversity depends on
health and renewable forest ecosystems. This study defines
the most critical problems and the most promising
opportunities affecting the future of Maine's forest economy
into the 21st century. In particular, it identifies critical
information gaps and recommends a policy and research
agenda. Out of this study came the recommendation to
evaluate ways to expand the secondary wood products sector
in Maine's Western Mountains. The Families and Forests
publication noted above resulted from this recommendation.
Funding for Maine's Forest Economy was provided by The
Betterment Fund and the Jessie B. Cox Charitable Trust.
Widening
the Maine Turnpike: The Case for a Management
Alternative. 1988 (3.6MG PDF)
The Maine turnpike authority proposed a major widening of
the southern section of the Maine turnpike that would be one
of the most expensive public works projects in Maine's
history. This report reviews the justification for and
alternatives to the Authority's $63 million proposal,
explores previously unaddressed environmental impacts, and
recommends a management approach as a viable alternative to
addressing infrequent traffic congestion. This report,
funded by a grant from Maine Times, resulted in a dramatic
shift in the way transportation policy is managed in Maine.
More specifically, it led to a statewide referendum where
voters rejected the Turnpike expansion.
Evaluation
of Plans to Widen the Maine Turnpike. 1988 (.9MG
PDF)
This report is a compendium of letters, press releases, and
written testimony by the Mainewatch Institute on the
proposal to widen the Maine Turnpike. Published two years
after Mainewatch's Widening the Maine Turnpike publication,
it illuminates both strengths and weaknesses not only of the
proposal itself, but also of the way in which the project
was developed and evaluated.
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