• Lilieholm, Robert J.
  School of Forest Resources, University of Maine
  

Maine’s North Woods represent the largest undeveloped forest block remaining in the eastern United States. And while these forests will likely endure, growing uncertainty over changing ownership and development has fueled a lively debate over whether current land use policies and trends are sufficient to sustain the forests and communities of the region. In this paper I describe the challenges and opportunities facing northern Maine, and offer some insights—as a recent resident of the state—on possible ways forward. My intent is not to offer an “answer,” for no single solution exists. Instead, I seek to take stock of where we are and where we seem to be headed, and describe how a broader, regional vision for the North Woods might better serve the long-term interests of the region’s forests and communities.