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Notes from APP and NMDC
Volume 1, Issue 14
Sept. 7, 2012
In This Issue
APP/LEAD Meeting
St. John Valley Byway
APP/LEAD annual meeting set for Sept. 27
APP-LEAD Annual Meeting
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   PRESQUE ISLE - The date has been set for the annual Aroostook Partnership for Progress and Leaders Encouraging Aroostook Development annual meeting. It will be a breakfast meeting at the Edmunds Conference Center on the campus of Northern Maine Community College Sept. 27 starting at 7:30 a.m.

   Unlike previous annual meetings there will be no charge for the breakfast, but preregistration is encouraged.

   "We have members that are investing in APP and LEAD. We have potential members we want to court and it seems appropriate to open the doors to everyone and offer the breakfast for free," said Bob Dorsey, president of APP.

   After breakfast the agenda will include a recap of APP accomplishments from the previous year and a look ahead at opportunities and challenges. The chairperson of LEAD, Jon McLaughlin, will give a brief on past activities and future events. The keynote speech will be from Anthony Hourihan of J.D. Irving. Hourihan will give attendees an update on plans for mining Bald Mountain northwest of Ashland.

   "The most exciting thing we have going is getting a new industry in The County and that is mining at Bald Mountain," said Dorsey. "It may mean 700 potential jobs and $45 million in annual gross domestic product. It is probably the most exciting opportunity we have going."

   Dorsey added Hourihan's presentation will focus on preparation in getting the mine up and running.

   "I am hoping they can share their preliminary plans, because a $300 million investment, as previously estimated by company officials, doesn't just happen overnight," he said.

   Judy Dinsmore at Northern Maine Development Commission is handling the registration. She can be contacted at  [email protected] or by phone at 498-8736.

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St. John Valley Cultural Byway

planning underway  

 

 

   ST. JOHN VALLEY - The Corridor Advocacy Group for the St. John Valley Cultural Byway gathered recently in Fort Kent for its first planning meeting. The byway was designated a State Scenic Byway by the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) in 2010. It follows U.S. Route 1A from Hamlin, continuing to U.S. Route 1 in Van Buren to Allagash, including part of Route 162 to Ste-Agathe (consideration is being given to include part of Route 1 in Cyr Plantation and Route 162 to Sinclair). It is one of 14 state and national scenic byways in Maine that together cover more than 500 miles of roadway through coastal and inland landscapes.

   The next step after state designation is to complete a Corridor Management and Partnership Plan. To achieve this goal, the Northern Maine Development Commission (NMDC) received a grant from MDOT and the Federal Highway Administration's Scenic Byways Program, to work with consultants, regional stakeholders and an advisory group.

   "The advisory group, made up of people from throughout the Valley, will help develop the corridor plan, an important document that guides planning and development efforts for the byway," said Brian Longstaff, regional planning program director for the Northern Maine Development Commission. "This first meeting was an orientation and discussion of some of the planning items we'll be tackling."

   Don Guimond, a member of the byway committee from Fort Kent, considers that "one of the greatest benefits of this effort is that the Valley is working on it together. That doesn't happen enough. It's great that we're doing something like this for the entire region."

   The plan will include the identification of key assets, related opportunities, and themes and stories. It will also set goals and strategies for protecting, promoting, enhancing, and managing the byway's intrinsic qualities.

   "Our aim is to have a plan done by next summer. Our advisory group, along with all the stakeholders in the Valley, plays an important role in reaching success," added Longstaff.

   The National Scenic Byway Program defines a scenic byway as a public road having special scenic, historic, recreational, cultural, archaeological, and/or natural qualities that have been recognized as such through legislation or some other official declaration. Notably, the St. John Valley's Acadian culture was at the forefront of consideration for State designation. Maine DOT reviewers noted that this significant intrinsic asset, the Acadian story, will make it distinct from all other Maine byways.

   The byway builds upon over 40 years of efforts by the region's historical societies, the National Park Service, Maine Acadian Heritage Council, Acadian Archives, and initiatives like the Voici the Valley Cultureway and the upcoming World Acadian Congress.

   For more information, contact Longstaff at NMDC, 532-0644 (office), 551-5836 (cell) or by email at [email protected].


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