Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Susan M. Collins traveled to Biddeford, Bangor, and Millinocket this week to learn how Maine business owners and residents are innovating and collaborating to tackle pressing economic challenges.

On Wednesday, Collins met members of Maine’s aquaculture industry at Atlantic Sea Farms – a Biddeford seaweed farming company that’s providing local fishing families with lasting opportunities to earn income. Then, in Bangor, business leaders from a range of industries told Collins about their biggest challenges, including housing and inflation.

On Thursday in Millinocket, Collins learned how residents are collaborating to revitalize the former mill town – as well as create opportunities for young people.

Collins said the trip highlights the Fed’s interest and emphasis on community and economic development.

“How do you build resilience in communities? That’s about collaboration, (and) letting local people identify what’s really needed, and bringing people together,” she said.

Businessowners discuss workforce opportunities, COVID-19 impacts in aquaculture

Atlantic Sea Farms CEO Briana Warner led Collins on a tour of the company’s facilities Wednesday. Aquaculture – the breeding, raising, and harvesting of fish, shellfish, and aquatic plants – is one of Maine’s key industries.

Warner is also a member of the Boston Fed’s New England Advisory Council, which keeps Collins informed about regional on-the-ground economic conditions. She said that “on the water,” thousands of people are seasonally employed. That means they have few opportunities to earn income in the winter. By introducing Maine’s longtime fishing families to kelp farming, Atlantic Sea Farms aims to provide an alternative source of income that’s also beneficial to the local environment, she said.

During a roundtable discussion with members of Maine’s aquaculture industry, Matt Moretti told Collins that the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the business he owns with his family, Bangs Island Mussels.

Moretti said most of his company’s mussels are sold to restaurants, and sales dropped to zero after many of his clients closed during the pandemic. But Moretti said the company has since fully recovered and is focusing on retaining employees and innovation.

“We have to figure it out as we grow,” he said.

Housing, inflation among economic challenges facing residents in Maine

During a discussion in Bangor, members of the Greater Bangor Chamber of Commerce and the Maine State Chamber of Commerce told Collins how inflation and housing are impacting the state’s workforce.

Realtor and business owner Julie Dawson Williams said recent statistics show that Maine is about 76,000 units short of housing. Bob Chandler, a vice president at the century-old forest management company Prentiss & Carlisle, added that the timber industry is tied tightly to the housing market. 

“Houses are built out of wood. And when houses aren’t being built … that trickles down to the mills,” he said.

Boston Fed Community Affairs Officer Prabal Chakrabarti moderated a meeting with small business owners on Thursday in Millinocket. Matthew Polstein, the founder of outdoor adventure resort New England Outdoor Center, told Collins he’s seen wage increases he “never imagined.” But Polstein said it’s helped him retain employees.

“My feeling is that for this area, the wage appreciation we’ve seen was needed,” he said. “Housing is not as low-cost anymore. … Food costs are high. Our workers are noticing that.”

Working Community Challenge team highlights importance of inspiring next generation

In Millinocket, Collins visited local businesses and learned about the town’s economy – which for decades revolved around the now-closed Great Northern Paper Company mill. Leaders of the local nonprofit Our Katahdin told Collins they’re working to revitalize the former millsite by turning it into a location for sustainable industrial activities, including renewable energy and aquaculture.

Collins also met with members of the Katahdin Region Working Communities Challenge team at the Millinocket Memorial Library. The Working Communities Challenge, part of the Boston Fed’s Working Places initiative, focuses on building strong local economies and communities in New England’s rural areas.

Millinocket library director Diana Furukawa said the organization is working to connect with young people reluctant to stay in their hometown because they don’t see a future there. Furukawa said they’re trying to change that impression with outdoor recreation and workforce programs targeting students and young adults.

Longtime resident Jasmine Folster is assistant director of the University of Maine Augusta East Millinocket Center. She said the mill closures brought a “loss of identity” to Millinocket and East Millinocket, and it’s taken years for some locals to accept the mills aren’t coming back. But she said that loss is an opportunity for community members to build a new identity together.

“This is the town that the mill made,” Folster said, “but now you get a choice on what you want to be.”