Demography, Population, and Ecology Commons^™

Maine’S Changing Demographics: Implications For Workforce, Economy, And Policy, Amanda K. Rector

Maine Policy Review

The fundamental purpose of any policy is to safeguard and improve the well-being of people. The understanding of any policy decision, therefore, must start with an understanding of demographics. This article reviews Maine’s demographics using data from the 1820 and 1920 censuses and comparing them to recent population estimates. The author finds trends that persist over time as well as ways in which Maine’s demographics have changed over the past 200 years. As 2019 ended and 2020 began, Maine saw its largest challenges as being related to the current demographic situation: slow population growth, limited available workforce, and increased demand …

The Political Geography Of Maine’S Economic Future: Cities And Their Metro Regions, Joseph W. Mcdonnell

Maine Policy Review

Following a global trend that now has more than 55 percent of the world population living in cities and their metro regions, Maine’s economic and population growth are driven by our cities and the surrounding metro areas. The trend, however, will not meet Maine’s goal to attract a future workforce and reduce greenhouse gas emissions without regional solutions to housing, education, homelessness, climate adaptation, and public transportation. Meeting these challenges will require a loosening of attitudes about local control and an embracing of regional solutions to the critical issues inhibiting Maine’s economic growth. The political leadership of the state, cities, …

Progress For Young Mainers Paved By Education, Michael P. Delorge

Maine Policy Review

Each year the Margaret Chase Smith Library sponsors an essay contest for high school seniors. The essay prompt for 2020 asked students to propose how they would make Maine “the way life should be” for young people so that more of them will choose to live in a state with one of the oldest populations in the nation. Essays have been edited for length. This is the second-place essay.

The Role Of Immigrants, Asylum Seekers, And Refugees In Confronting Maine’S Demographic Challenges, Robert W. Glover

Maine Policy Review

The state of Maine currently faces a looming “demographic winter.” The state and its communities will struggle to maintain viable and vibrant communities in the decades to come due the current demographic situation, and will encounter a host of economic and political challenges as a result. Working to make Maine an attractive destination for immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees must be at the forefront of efforts to address this challenge. This article lays out the difficult demographic situation that Maine currently faces and will face in the years to come and articulates why, more than ever, fostering greater diversity in …

The Demographic Transformation In Maine (And Beyond) Is In Full Swing, Lenard W. Kaye

Maine Policy Review

The article discusses the demographics of longevity and what it means for Maine. Lenard Kaye, guest editor, introduces the topic and describes the reasons for this special aging-focused issue of the Maine Policy Review.

The Economic Implications Of Maine’S Changing Age Structure, James Breece, Glenn Mills, Todd Gabe

Maine Policy Review

The authors analyze the major implications of Maine’s aging population on the state’s workforce and economy. They note that there are steps that can be taken to partially mitigate the negative impacts and capitalize on the opportuni­ties associated with an aging population.

Immigrant Elders: What Can Maine Learn From Other States?, Linda Silka

Maine Policy Review

Maine is not yet home to large numbers of immigrants, but that may soon change. Linda Silka presents lessons from elsewhere about elder immigrants and considers their implications for Maine. She suggests that attention to the topic of immigrant elders will help Maine to create policy and opportunity for all elders.

Maine Epscor End-To-End Connectivity For Sustainability Science Collaboration, Michael Eckardt, Jeffrey Letourneau, David Neivandt, Bruce E. Segee

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Project Description

This RII C2 proposal from Maine (ME) EPSCoR is focused on addressing last-mile bottlenecks at seven campuses of the University of Maine System. Maine's Research and Education Network, MaineREN, delivers high performance inter-campus fiber connectivity to public and private institutions across the state, but the intra-campus networking has lacked the same investment by the state.

The proposed improvements include:
- Rewiring eight buildings at the University of Maine Orono Campus (UMaine) with Cat-6 cable, increasing end-to-end performance to 10 Gbps.
- Upgrading the fiber backbone between the two University of Southern Maine (USM) campuses, one in Portland and …

Attraction And Retention—Maine’S Challenge, Ed Cervone

Maine Policy Review

In the Margaret Chase Smith Essay Ed Cervone, Presdent/CEO of the Maine Development Foundation, discusses Maine’s demographic challenges in attracting and retaining population if the state is to grow its economy and sustain that growth. He makes recommendations for attracting a larger, younger, and more diverse population.

Saving Schoodic: A Story Of Development, Lost Settlement, And Preservation, Alan K. Workman

Maine History

Remote, isolated, and nearly barren Schoodic Point, now the easternmost part of Acadia National Park, was long bypassed by early explorers and settlers. It might have seemed destined to remain deserted, a candidate for coastal parkland preservation in the twentieth century. But like such distant outposts as Vinalhaven, Swan’s, and Ironbound islands, Schoodic in the nineteenth century was overtaken by extensive land development, logging, and settlement by fishermen farmers. Eventually its proximity to Bar Harbor made it a target for vacation resort cottages. Yet Schoodic’s peninsular ecology and elements of its social circumstances helped it escape such development in favor …

Prospects For A Rim County Population Rebound: Can Quality Of Place Lure In-Migrants?, David Vail

Maine Policy Review

David Vail asks whether population will rebound in Maine’s rural “rim” counties and whether investing to enhance “quality of place” can attract large numbers of rural settlers. Review of the evidence suggests that Maine’s rim counties are not experiencing a population rebound and that rural counties vary greatly in their ability to hold onto existing residents or attract new ones. Vail argues that quality-of-place investments should not be considered as a core development tool for rural areas, but that they can complement traditional rural economic policy measures. Since it is difficult to stimulate a major population movement to Maine’s rim …

Family Economic Security, Ann Acheson

Maine Policy Review

Research shows that family economic insecurity when children are very young can have lifelong effects. Ann Acheson gives an overview of patterns of poverty and family economic insecurity in Maine, including the marked regional differences in poverty, income, and employment in the state. She describes some of the key benefits and programs to help support lower-income families and examines current policies and policy recommendations for addressing poverty and economic insecurity. Acheson notes that while Maine has been progressive in many of its policies that support family economic security, states can’t do it all, since much of the program and benefits …

Access To The Waterfront: Issues And Solutions Across The Nation, Natalie Springuel, Kathlyn Tenga-Gonzalez, Beth Owen, Kristen Whiting-Grant, Susan White, Paul Anderson

Maine Sea Grant Publications

A tide of demographic and economic change is moving through coastal towns, harbors, and communities throughout the United States. As the various regions and states confront the resulting conflicts over access to beaches, shorelines, and waterways, they are recognizing the need to identify and share tools and solutions.

In December 2006, Maine Sea Grant, with support from Hawaii Sea Grant and an advisory committee from the National Sea Grant network and Coastal Zone Management programs, surveyed over 140 extension professionals, coastal managers, and other individuals to characterize the scope of coastal access issues nationwide and the effects on coastal communities, …

The Aging Imperative In Maine: Present Realities And Future Prospects, Helen. B. Miltiades, Lenard W. Kaye

Maine Policy Review

Maine has one of the oldest populations in the United States. In this article, Helen Miltiades and Lenard Kaye, guest editor for this special issue, provide an overview of Maine’s aging population and the challenges—and opportunities—faced in the “revolution in aging” that is taking place. They point out how the growing older adult population is expected to place greater demands on family caregivers, on the health and long-term care systems, and on state and federal budgetary and policy decisions. Describing some of Maine’s innovative public and private sector responses, they note that Maine has been in the forefront in providing …

Ready Or Not—Here They Come!, Laurie Lachance

Maine Policy Review

Laurie Lachance, Maine’s state economist, outlines the economic implications of the “tidal wave” of aging baby boomers that will shortly be hitting Maine, and what might be done to prepare for it. She asks whether Maine has appropriate housing, transportation, and health care services to care for the needs of an aging population, and how Maine will fund the needed infrastructure with a smaller labor force. Lachance notes that there is still time to prepare. Seniors are and will be living longer, healthier lives; they are and will be increasingly engaged in social, cultural and educational activities; this and future …

Economic Prosperity In Maine: Held Back By The Lack Of Higher Education, Philip A. Trostel

Maine Policy Review

Maine lags the nation in economic prosperity and in education attainment, and there is little doubt that the relative lack of higher education in Maine is a leading factor. In this article, Trostel looks at each of the three sources of Maine’s relatively low education attainment: the net emigration of college graduates (who are presumably in search of employment opportunities elsewhere); relatively fewer students going on to college; and the net emigration of high-school graduates leaving Maine to attend out-of-state postsecondary schools. While all three factors have happened in Maine to some extent, the net emigration of the state’s high-school …

Maine’S Investment Imperative, Laurie G. Lachance

Maine Policy Review

In the past two decades, Maine’s per capita income ranking has not topped 27th, and in recent years, the state’s relative position has dropped to 36th. More importantly, the gap between Maine and the United States has increased since 1990. In this article, Maine’s State Economist Laurie Lachance lays out a long-term investment strategy for Maine that focuses on education, research and development, comprehensive tax reform, greater efficiencies in the delivery of state and local services, and limits on government spending. Lachance argues that choices must be made even in times of fiscal crisis. Failure to invest means failure, period.

Teenage Births In Maine: Positive Trends But More To Be Done, Leslie King, Stephen Marks

Maine Policy Review

Teen birth rates in Maine have fallen by 34 percent over the past decade, the fourth highest decline in the nation. However, as King and Marks point out, a low birthrate of 29.8 percent in 1999 still exceeds the teenage birthrate in most other industrialized countries in the world by a substantial margin. Moreover, when the authors compared Maine’s predominantly white population with non-Hispanic whites in other states, Maine’s success is not as remarkable. Indeed, the teenage birthrate of Maine’s non-Hispanic white population is higher than every other state in the Northeast corridor with the exception of Delaware. All of …

Whither Maine’S Population, Deirdre M. Mageean, Gillian Avruskin, Richard Sherwood

Maine Policy Review

Demographic changes affect many aspects of a state’s economic and community well-being. Mageean, AvRuskin and Sherwood describe some of the potential impacts of Maine’s changing population. They note that the state’s population is aging; the percentage of Maine’s youth is declining faster than in other New England states; and that rates of growth remain relatively slow throughout most counties. The authors describe each of these trends, and discuss the implications for Maine’s labor force, education and health care systems. They also note that these trends will not be experienced similarly by all parts of the state. While some counties may …

Homeless In Maine: Who Is? Who Might Be Tomorrow? What Do We Do About It?, Suzanne Guild

Maine Policy Review

The December 1998 denial by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to fund Maine’s applications for homeless assistance catapulted the needs of this vulnerable population to top priority status. As Suzanne Guild notes, Maine’s homeless population is comprised of two groups: those who are homeless for the first time and who, after a brief stay at a shelter, will regain stable housing, and those who cycle in and out of the state’s shelters on a more or less regular basis. Both groups tend to be young and undereducated; more than half are male; and many report problems with …

Exploring Maine's North-South Dichotomy, Christopher Spruce

Maine Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Identifying Childhood Hunger In Maine, Deirdre Mageean

Maine Policy Review

Recent political campaigns at the national and state levels have been filled with much rhetoric about the present and future of families and children. But effective public policy developed in response to many pressing financial and social needs of families and children has not followed from the rhetoric. The lack of adequate quantitative research on the needs of children is often cited as a reason to move cautiously in responding to "perceived needs." Deirdre Mageean discusses the nation’s public policy responses to poverty that have been attempted since the mid-1960s. Mageean, who served as co-director of a year-long childhood hunger …

Patterns Of Infant Mortality In The Upper St. John Valley French Population: 1791-1838, Marcella H. Sorg, Beatrice C. Craig

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

The purpose of this paper is to provide a descriptive analysis of infant mortality patterns in a pre-industrial North American population, the Madawaska French of the upper St. John Valley. A synchronic approach was taken in examining a series of 320 infant deaths identified through family reconstitution. The infant mortality rate for the series is 132 per 1000, low compared to other pre-industrial populations. The large average completed family size of 11.34 is associated with short birth intervals averaging 21.9 months. Women who experience infant mortality were found to have significantly larger completed families that those who did not. Infant …

Franco American Resources Inventory Of New England, Franco-American Programs, Orono, Me

General Monograph Collection

The Farine book was the product of a 1979/1980 student led and FAROG Sponsored (Franco-American Resource Opportunity Group) cultural and ethnic investigation throughout New England, including Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts's, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island . During this expedition the group members documented their excursions through photographs and interviews with various Franco American individuals or institutions . This Catalog of their actions is a resource for exploring Franco American culture through industry, family. music, religion and community