Summary
This application requests $2,000.00 in order to support an education bus tour of Maine's North Woods as part of Greenville's Forest Heritage Days.

Forest Heritage Days
Forest Heritage Days is a 12 year old educational and entertainment event sponsored by the Town of Greenville and the Natural Resource Education Center (NREC). It was started in 1991 when, in order to celebrate the Maine Forest Service's 100 anniversary, a group of concerned residents in the Moosehead Lake region decided to start an annual event called Forest Heritage Days that focuses on Maine's working forests.

Since then, Forest Heritage Days has continued its emphasis on educating the public on the issues of good forest stewardship and sustainability. Part of this education component is inviting the public on an informational bus tour of Maine's North Woods.

At the end of this application, there is a schedule of events for this year's Forest Heritage Days.

The Moosehead Region Woods Tour
The woods tour provides a unique opportunity for the public to investigate the issues surrounding forestry in Maine's North Woods. Two guided tour buses will leave Greenville and stop at selected sites around the Moosehead Region and Piscataquis County. The sites are designed to highlight the forestry sector's past, present, and future. Some of the sites include:
1. A current harvesting operation that displays of some of the most up-to-date forestry machinery (this machinery cuts and processes wood fiber with greater efficiency. It also downgrades substantially any residual damage to nearby trees due to superior cutting methods and thinner trails),
2. A road improvement site that is bring upgraded to State “Best Management Practices (in order to prevent siltation from road runoff),
3. Tours of modern saw mills (O&R Lumbra and Pleasant River Lumber), and
4. Discussion with a small woodlot owner who utilizes a variety of forest resources in order to best promote his small business ventures. A tour of his property and how he manages his woodlot will be emphasized.

During the travel between sites, lectures will highlight the local forestry sector's economic impact, Q&A with existing forest product industry leaders, discussions with representatives of Maine's larger landowners, and the future of recreational opportunities in the North Woods.

The history component of the tour will be discussed during a lunch at Katahdin Iron Works (KI) north of Brownville. Although not a wood supplier, the smith operation at KI was an example of how Maine's North Woods have supported a myriad of businesses that catered to the forestry sector. Many of the products forged at KI were used in the past by the logging profession. This is an example of how Maine's forestry industry has a significant indirect affect on the economy.

The public will also be shown examples of modern forestry in an effort to better clarify current forestry issues. The aim is to allow the public to ask questions of those currently engaged in forestry and to directly ouch on current forestry issues that concerns the public.

Key Personnel- Members of the Forest Heritage Days Committee

Personnel involved in this bus tour include (but are not limited to) the following seasoned veteran's of Forest Heritage Days, and also two new faces from our county economic development council.

David Sinclair is a wood products entrepreneur with many years experience as a businessman. Mr. Sinclair is the President of a new corporation named Maine Lumber Llc., which plans a Fall-2002 start-up of a small-log lumber mill in the Greenville Industrial Park.

Gary Morse is a self-employed forester who resides in Greenville and has worked as a forester in the region over 15 years.

Mark Doty is a unit manager for Plum Creek Timber Company and will directly oversee a great deal of the tour.

Mark Scarano is the Executive Director for the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council (PCEDC) and will assist in the coordination of speakers from the various mills being visited. Mr. Scarano will also share with the group on-going economic development efforts within Piscataquis County to encourage wood products manufacturers to locate here.

John Simko is the Town Manager for the Town of Greenville, and the current President of the PCEDC. Mr. Simko will assist in the description of on-going economic development efforts within Piscataquis County, and will highlight efforts by the Town of Greenville and the PCEDC to develop a Wood Composites Business Incubator Center within Greenville, which would strengthen the manufacturing base within Greenville and would also create markets for low-grade wood and wood-waste.

Relationship to MCF's Community Building Priorities

• “Recognize and build on a community's strengths and assets rather than its needs and deficiencies” - The Moosehead Region Woods Tour is a positive education component that builds on Greenville's historic contributions to Maine's forest industry.
• “When appropriate, ensure the sustainability of the project by identifying ways to imbed its objectives into the daily workings of the organization or community” - The Moosehead Region Woods Tour supports Greenville's ongoing efforts to enhance and modernize their wood products sector. The Town of Greenville hopes that the interest of local (and Maine) manufacturers in modernizing their methods could lead to enhanced productivity and high-end job creation.
• “Foster cooperative approaches to community issues” - Sustainable forestry is a concern to many residents in Greenville and throughout Maine. The Tour is a mechanism that supports factual based investigation by the public on the issue through informational discussions and Q&A sessions. It is the aim of organizers that the Tour will be seen as a source of non-biased forestry related information.
• “Recognize and strengthen local leadership and traditions” - The Greenville area has a strong logging and wood manufacturing tradition that the Moosehead Region Wood Tour hopes to promote. In the recent past, the forestry industry's contribution to the Greenville's heritage and economy was downgraded. The Tour aims to discuss the past strength of the industry while emphasizing its continually evolving role within the North Wood's economy and environment.
• “Serve as a catalyst for attracting other resources” - Organizers also hope to create a “buzz” around Greenville and promote the area as a prime center for forestry and wood product manufacturing. An unanticipated indirect benefit would be for local manufactures to invest in the updated equipment and manufacturing techniques they see along the tour.