MAINE PUBLIC • February 18, 2025
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. Jeff McCabe, director of the Maine Office of Outdoor Recreation, 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.