Wishing to grab that momentum and fully integrate tourism into the county’s economic development plan, the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council (PCEDC) is joining with other stakeholders to establish a regional tourism task force, the Piscataquis County Interim Task Force on Tourism Development (PCITF).

Roger Merchant of PCEDC and UMaine Cooperative Extension, who was to present the plan for the task force to the Piscataquis County Commissioners Tuesday morning, said the PCITF will take the information from the recent UMaine Tourism Attitudes research project, the state-funded Fermata, Inc. study, and other data to formulate a concrete blueprint for pushing forward the development of tourism opportunities in a way that is both compatible to the region and palatable to its residents.

"Their job will be to get ahold of the information that is available to us and really distill and boil that down by year-end into an implementation blueprint for tourism in the county," he siad. "We anticipate that the field findings and the research that has been going on will inform this blueprint, and we anticipate that by year-end (we will know) the organizational structures and investments that may be needed to really put this in place on the ground." Merchant said the task force will have nine members culled from town and county government, the local chambers of commerce, The Maine Highlands Corporation tourism group, and the Cooperative Extension. Aiding the task force will be an advisory board of interested parties who will act as a "sounding board" for the ideas percolated by the PCITF, he said. A publicly-accessible bulletin board, possibly on the PCEDC Web site, will also be created to give residents an opportunity to voice their concerns and identify tourism opportunities.

The PCITF will be given the rest of 2005 to complete their charge. In formulating the blueprint, the task force will frame out niche tourism opportunities that may benefit the county as well as create a "play book" of prioritized strategies for opportunities that need investment and implementation. The task force will also create a series of maps detailing the connections between key agencies, organizations and intiatives as a way to guide and promote collaborations across the spectrum.

The blueprint created by task force is certainly to be a long-range one, Merchant said. "You don’t (implement) all this in one year," he said.

The task force, Merchant said, was the logical next step following the UMaine study that detailed attitudes in Piscataquis County related to all aspects of tourism development, from nature tourism to cultural heritage to recreation. Though some opinions varied town to town, 70 percent of those contacted said tourism was important, and 66 percent supported the creation of a county-wide tourism management plan, as long as that plan paired development with considerations for what residents hold dear.

"People were saying,’You know, there are some niche opportunities that could be really good for us, that could enhance community and economic life. But we would prefer to have it done in a way that does not compromise or sacrifice our rural quality of life.’," Merchant said, adding that by utilizing the findings in the survey the task force gains credibility within the county and is better able to carry out the wishes of its residents.

Also factoring into the creation of the task force is the study by Fermata, Inc. that was commissioned by the state. The Texas-based company is completing an inventory and assessment of the natural resource-based tourism opportunities in three regions, including the 100-Mile Wilderness, which cuts through a large portion of the county. Fermata will also take a look at the tourism offerings that are lacking in the study areas, which also include the Western Mountains and Downeast regions, and will give recommendations on how to enhance the tourism infrastructure.

The county has been awash in news related to tourism over the past year. Besides the UMaine and Fermata studies, developments such as the Appalachian Mountain Club’s desire to enhance nature-based opportunities, the land deal announced by Plum Creek, with its recreational components, the continuing efforts in cultural heritage by The Maine Highlands Guild and the PCEDC’s Cultural Heritage and Eco-tourism Committee, and Gov. Baldacci’s Maine Woods Legacy concept have all contributed to the conversations surrounding the issue.

The Piscataquis County Commissioners are to take action on the formation of the task force at their regular meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 1.
"This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the Moosehead Messenger and is used here with permission."