Lloyd C. Irland The Irland Group and UMO –SFR Machias June 18, 2016

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Contents

History

Fish and furs

Age of Sail and Steam

Transition to 20th Century

Transition to 21st Century

Opportunities and Issues

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Fishing stations -- outpost

economy

Fur trade sustained early

Massachusetts founders

International boundary

confused due to remoteness

Early 19th century -- boomers

frustrated–

Nobody wanted to farm

Fish and Furs

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Economic Ecosystem Based on Lumber

Depended on external connections

Fishing >>> boats

Built boats w local wood

Steamers brought tourists

Lumber, hay other bulk products

shipped out

Much inland timberland locally owned

Earnings in shipping came home with

crews, owners

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http://digitalcollections.nypl.org

/items/510d47e0-2ace-a3d9-

e040-e00a18064a99

Schooner being launched at

Milbridge

Age of Sail and Steam Maine was an island -- Labaree

Every island and point connected

To markets

To visitors/later tourists

To supplies

Rails reach San Francisco before Calais

As Globalized as anyplace N of Boston!

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2 Prosperous communities –

Bucksport and

Woodland/Calais

Numerous logging & trucking

jobs until mechanization, but

not careers

Now: Fewer but better jobs

Economic ecosystem based on Pulp and paper

Landownership --Schematic

Numerous local lumber & timber families

St Regis Paper Company, St Croix Co.

& successors

1970s, early 80’s public lots trades

Various liquidators

Investment groups and individuals

John Malone: the newest William Bingham

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Economic Ecosystems Unravel Steel ships and 2 Canals

end shipbuilding

Auto ends steamers: better mobility

cuts County off

Competition in labor intensive processing

Fisheries: depletion, costs, competition

On Islands and points, economy withers

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Age of Electricity

Atlantic Wall & Pollution -- loss of

fisheries

Paper industry

Major job centers

Assumed control of the land

Tourism steadily grows but halts at Bar

Harbor

No national chain motel in WC

Transition to 20th Century

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The old moves out... Farming, fishing, and local manufacturing decline

Seasonal and subsistence work – “piecing”

Gentrification: Rusticators become the owners

Grid power -- local small dams not needed

Grey economy/smuggling

Forest is fully utilized.

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The Popes: Lumbermen who went West

Photos from Drisko.

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Latter 20th C to 2006

Jobs decline; cities decline;

Emergence of China

Energy boom & bust

Demand for logs/chips/pulp

Inward investment

Tourism spreads east -slowly

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Has Lost the Internal Complexity &

“Multipliers”

Instability

Large areas of badly managed forests

Evidence of decay visible everywhere --

blight for tourism

Heritage of the “Atlantic Wall” -- depleted

fisheries with limited recovery potential

Fixing the rivers -- guys who made the $

left; now society subsidizes repairs

Current Economic Ecosystem

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Economic & social decline maximizes

unease, fear, contention over the remaining

pie

Economic Change becomes zero-sum

Blame game: “it’s Augusta’s fault” or

Globalization

Regulations (LURC)

Huge informal sector & grey economy

Accompaniments of decline

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For Wood and Forest

Products –

The Dark Time Continues…

Advantages: Not many

Disadvantages: Many

Learn to play the hand you’re dealt

Survival is victory!

China tidal wave will abate…

when?

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New tourism/recreation options

yurts? long trails

Entrepreneurs-- in any aspect of activity, esp.

small manufacturing, tourism, etc.

Significant opps for individuals in self-

employment in e-economy

Bring informal employment into formal system

Opportunities

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Public Policy: do no harm

Traditional methods,

industrial parks, etc. not useful

Clusters? Training?

Need new ideas.

Try to hit singles, not home runs

Key is finding and supporting

entrepreneurs.

Facilitating Change

Historian Daniel Boorstin says

• “New England’s greatest natural resource is resourcefulness”

• Rely on resourcefulness and entrepreneurship not on some assumed list of “advantages”

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Thanks for your attention Questions?