A new report from the Maine Office of Outdoor Recreation and business charts a roadmap for growing the state's $3.4 billion outdoor recreation economy over the next decade, with a focus on education, accessibility, and workforce development.
Stacey Keefer, executive director of the Maine Marine Trades Association, which contributed to the report, said one potential solution to workforce challenges is more education and publicity about outdoor jobs in the state.
"You know, kids say, 'Oh, I want to go out west and work outside.' Well, they may not realize how many opportunities are right here in in New England and in, especially in Maine," Keefer said.
Jeff McCabe, director of the Maine Office of Outdoor Recreation, also helped steer the report. He said one goal is to make recreation more accessible, through programs such as outdoor gear lending libraries.
"Building out opportunities for both youth and adults and families to be able to borrow, in some cases rent gear, other cases, to check it out, like you would check out a library book, just to try activities," he said.
McCabe said another priority is to develop career paths in trail work, guiding, and other outdoor recreation jobs.
He said increasingly severe weather due to climate change is posing a serious threat to the outdoor recreation economy, but that also creates an opening for more trail worker jobs needed to make the state's outdoor infrastructure more resilient.
