Katahdin Gazetteer Vision:

Distinct, welcoming and gritty. The Katahdin Region is a premier four season outdoor recreation destination in New England known for enduring natural beauty and authentic experiences. We promote economic growth and development that respects that natural environment, bolsters communities, accounts for climate impacts and builds on the diversity of resources that surrounds us. Our robust forest economy produces a new wave of innovative forest products and our world-class outdoor recreation activities are legendary. People who live here and visitors alike enjoy walking, biking, hiking, snowmobiling, ATVing, skiing, and paddling on well-connected and well-marked paths and trails that wind throughout the region. Our communities support people of all ages and abilities with excellent healthcare and education, wheelchair and stroller-friendly sidewalks, and access to affordable housing and broadband service. Our town centers are alive with bustling small businesses and unique eateries. The Katahdin Region is a robust string of dynamic communities, working and wild land, and crystalline rivers and lakes. People who live here fiercely support and welcome new businesses, new neighbors, and new visitors to our special corner of Maine. Welcome to Katahdin.

#AllinKatahdin #WickedRugged 

Principles for the future:

Distilled from the conversation and feedback throughout the Katahdin Gazetteer creation process, these are essential elements intended to guide future action in the Katahdin region. Recognizing a diversity of perspectives exist, the principles can be used to create, test, and validate ideas and actions as they arise. They provide a lens for new proposals – does the idea uphold these principles or go against them? If it upholds them, then it already has some support in the region.

In order to create the future we want, we will;

Connected

• Connect as a region to think, coordinate, and build together
• Stay connected with nature to think, coordinate, and build in ways that respect what brought and keeps us here.
• Embrace openness and accept the discomfort of letting problems be public, as it is necessary for others to help address the problem by fully understanding the scope and breadth of the issue at hand.

Healing

• Honor the grieving and loss people in the region endure- from the tribes of the Wabanaki Confederacy, to the Great Northern Paper workers and families, to the opioid epidemic.
• Seek common ground to rally behind, move past rivalries and competition between towns, and focus on regional prosperity and existence into the future.
• Find small ways to work across the lines of difference to build trust and hope – across towns and schools, across the Northern and Southern parts of the region, and municipalities and tribes.

Welcoming

• Ensure our attitudes, behaviors, and signage are welcoming to new locals and visitors alike.
• Welcome new ideas and people in our towns, schools, businesses and institutions.

Moxie

• Be determined to make things happen and actively participate at all levels of the community – from volunteers to leaders, public and private.
• Make the Katahdin experience distinctively different – energetic, exciting, and something people want more of!

World Class

• Be on a par with the best around the world, including internet access, renewable energy, forest products, recreation and tourism, while also remaining true to ourselves and enjoying an incredible quality of life.
• Go outside of the region for knowledge, insights, and practices in addition to building on local excellence.

Timeless

• Ensure the region continues to be a place where people experience bountiful nature and the wild.
• Create unique experiences that produce lifelong memories
• Promote development that advances dense town centers consistent with our unique sense of place and identity, and protects our clean air, clear skies, and bountiful nature.