A public summit was attended by multiple stakeholders from Washington & Hancock counties
to determine if an NHA proposal would have wide-spread community support . A conversation amongst a wider group of stakeholders would help the group consider all the stories of Downeast Maine and discuss potential benefits and identify any concerns with going forward .
A Summit was convened on October 9 , 2019 and attended by 40 community participants from both Washington and Hancock Counties . Participants represented local businesses ; heritage , education , and conservation organizations ; and state and federal government offices . Attendees voiced a desire to conduct a study around broader natural resource-based topics , including our fisheries and forest industries , outdoor recreation resources , history , and scenic beauty .
A public summit was attended by multiple stakeholders from Washington & Hancock counties
Local Businesses |
Heritage , Education & Conservation Organizations |
State and Federal Government Offices |
General Public / Local Community |
Summit participants were asked to consider – “ What would a Downeast NHA look like ?” To do that , meeting participants were broken into six small groups to brainstorm ideas and answer three specific questions :
1 . What best defines this place ? 2 . What are the defining human interactions with this place ? 3 . What are the unique natural , cultural , and historic , features of this place , and how are they important to the nation ?
Breakout groups were asked to discuss these questions and distill their conversations into a brief set of notes and to present their thoughts on how the region ’ s unique natural , cultural , and
36