Kevin Slater couldn't imagine working anywhere else, either. But unlike Campell, the owner of Newry, Maine-based Mahoosuc Guide Service is more concerned with the region's boom rather than its bust. The timber-frame home Slater built sits on 60 acres and looks out over the kennels that house his 34 Gwich'n sled dogs, a Yukon breed descended directly from the original Royal Canadian Mounted Police canines. They are calmer and sturdier than huskies, qualities necessary for surviving the long haul in a place like this. "More like freighters than racers," he says.

Slater has been guiding in Maine for 32 years and says he wouldn't do it if he didn't love it. "But the overhead with living creatures is very different than with a piece of equipment, so we have to charge more. Then we have a short winter like this one and we have to maximize it." But beyond these anticipated variables, Slater says this area just up the road from Sunday River is becoming unaffordable for someone on a guide's income. The new homes don't bring more customers his way. He believes the boon is just a temporary one for construction workers and mourns the loss of community around him as more and more of his neighbors are second-home owners. "There is no big vision in place concerning development," he says.

Across the border in New Hampshire, Lincoln Robertson is more hopeful. The owner of the three-year-old North Woods Rafting guide service envisions his mill city will be a mecca for the outdoor tourist. "Without the mill in Berlin, something's going to happen up there. It'll be the next Bethel."

Others have similar dreams for the Berlin area. Several years ago, the state of New Hampshire purchased 7,200 acres near Jericho Lake. With 40 miles of trails to be developed over five years—some scheduled to open this summer—it will be the largest ATV park in the Northeast. The area already attracts snowmobilers, but proponents believe ATVs will be an even bigger, year-round business fueling the local economy with new hotels, stores, restaurants, and cabins.

But others warn that recreation isn't a panacea for the region's woes. Randolph, N.H. resident John Scarinza wears many hats: adviser to the coalition, a state police officer, and chairman of the town forest commission. He believes recreation is a good second economy, but service jobs don't pay. "We can't have a recreation industry without a forest-production industry," he says. "They need to work hand in hand for the greater good."

As a border patrol agent, Scarinza watched truckloads of hardwood leave New Hampshire for Canada, only to come back as furniture. "We need opportunities here to start small businesses—wood pellet production, wood-to-energy plants, making ethanol from woodchips—and business owners need to be encouraged."

In 2001 the town purchased 10,000 acres to create the Randolph Town Forest, a working forest with access for hikers, hunters, and snowmobilers. The land had traded hands four times and decision-making about it was no longer happening in town. The forest has been a feather in the cap for the community, Scarinza says, and can serve as a model for the Mahoosuc region.

Other models are evolving. In New Hampshire, paper companies once practically ran the state. Now there's no such thing as company land. "We've made the transition to investment-company land," says Jasen Stock, who heads the New Hampshire Timberland Owners Association. These days, Stock says landowners are looking at other uses for their properties. "I get calls from people looking for snowmobile camps," he says. "They don't need trees, just cheap land. If timber was wildly profitable, people wouldn't think of selling it." But he still sees a lot of private investment into timber ventures, and "this shows there's a future there. I'm betting it will last."

So what is the future of the Mahoosuc region? Bethel Chamber's Zinchuk believes that whatever her town's destiny, "we need to make an intentional decision. If we are only going to be a retirement community, what can we do to be the best darn retirement community around?"

Without one designated authority taking charge the coalition maintains the time is right for people to step up and determine the future of their region. But are a preserved sense of community and sustainable economy based on tourism, logging and innovative wood products, development, and recreation truly possible? And can a report really contribute that much?

"Yes on both counts," says AMC's Clendenning. "The history of northern New Hampshire and Maine is based on inter-related tourism, recreation, and timber industries benefiting from the incredible forest resources that exist here. There's absolutely no reason that just because we're facing rapid change, we can't ensure that what people love about the region continues into the foreseeable future. It just takes thoughtful, cooperative work."

"If you like your house the way it is," he says, "you don't leave it alone. You clean, do upkeep, plan, and act. It's the same with our lands, forests, and communities. If we like what we have, we've got to work hard to keep it that way."

Zinchuk uses Caribou, Maine, as an illustration. When Loring Air Force based was shut down in 1994, says Zinchuk, "the region reeled." Six car dealerships in town closed on a single day. But, she continues, "those who didn't want to see that part of the country die on the vine got together to build a new economy."

Bryan Wentzell's roots grow deep in this land—his great-grandfather ran logs down the Androscoggin. Today he leads AMC's policy work in Maine and knows that, especially in this climate, conservation can have a bad rap. Contrary to what some think, however, he says, "conservation is about keeping the land open for the long term for everyone—for timber harvesting, hiking, hunting, skiing, biking, ecological protection, motorized recreation, and just enjoying the outdoors." Having a solid plan for conservation is going to determine the future of this region. Determining where and how each activity takes place is important, he says, "but they all depend on having access to the land."

So far the coalition's work has definitely got folks talking about what access means to them. "Our goal here is to have the conversation," says Zinchuk. "If it's inspired by the people, let the chips fall where they may."

More on the Mahoosucs

• North Woods Rafting, Milan, N.H.
• Bethel Outdoor Adventure & Campground, Bethel, Maine
• AMC's Conservation Efforts in the Mahoosuc Region
  
• Mahoosuc Initiative
  

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