Just how the county can boost its prosperity in the future and address its problems while keeping its quality of life is part of a study being undertaken by the Brookings Institute, a Washington-based think tank. Aided by GrowSmart Maine, a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to finding alternatives to sprawl, the study will provide a snapshot of Maine - where it has been and where it is headed, its strengths and weaknesses - and a blueprint for action with specific recommendations. The report will be released in September.

The two groups will try to make change happen from the "bottom up" by applying some pressure on elected officials, Alan Caron, GrowSmart president, told about 50 people in Dover-Foxcroft on Tuesday.

The Dover-Foxcroft meeting was one of several being held throughout the state by the two organizations to find out what residents envision for the future and what changes need to be made to make the progression.

"I live here for the quality of life, but it just seems we have less and less control," Rollin Thurlow of Atkinson said Tuesday.

In addition to the loss of local control, some of the people who attended the meeting mentioned the lack of jobs, the high costs of insurance, too many state and federal regulations, high energy costs, high education costs and property taxes, lack of access to high technology and higher education, and cheap imports that affect all corners of the market including the forest products industry, as problems facing the region and the state.

"It's the environmentalists that's stifling the state of Maine," Bud Landry of Abbot said Tuesday. He said these individuals are driving people from northern Maine.

Despite the problems, Piscataquis County has had its successes, residents noted. A new higher education center opened in Dover-Foxcroft, new businesses replaced some of the jobs lost when Dexter Shoe Co. closed, a new community theater opened, local farmers have expanded their markets, and niche tourism studies have been conducted.

"We've had some good victories along the way," Mark Scarano, executive director of the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council, said.

The nearly $500,000 study is being funded by such organizations as the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, The Nature Conservancy, the Maine Community Foundation and the State Planning Office.

Caron said that once the study is released, work will begin in the following four years to implement the recommendations.
"This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the Thursday, April 27, 2006 edition of the Bangor Daily NEWS and is used here with permission."