The Economics Of Clean Water

Written By - Tom Remington - 06/26/2007

Link to Original Article here

A couple weeks ago I received an email from Whit Richardson, staff writer for MaineBiz.biz. He told me he was doing a story about Maine rivers, including the Upper Androscoggin. Through his research and I think mostly talking with Wende Gray, he learned that I had grown up living on the Androscoggin in East Bethel.

We played phone tag for a few days until finally we connected. I spent nearly two hours on the phone talking with Whit and sharing much of what I had experienced as a child living on the river when it was literally an open cesspool. Today, that same river is teeming with fish, the water is mostly clean and people are beginning to discover what it has to offer.

Whit put together an article that touches on aspects of all three of Maine's largest rivers - Androscoggin, Kennebec and Penobscot. Of course his focus, being the writer for a Maine business oriented magazine, is on how these three rivers can benefit the citizens of Maine economically.

Richardson talks with several people who have at least some degree of influence and knowledge of how these three rivers have in the past and are currently benefiting Maine people. The real question now becomes, what does the future hold?

Much of the talk these days is about how to lure the "deep pockets" of wealthy fly fishermen. While I agree that Maine needs to focus attention on luring the money-spending fishermen that will be a benefit to many businesses throughout Maine, we need to make sure this isn't done at the expense of other aspects of fishing. More on that in a moment.

The goal, says Bill Pierce, a marketing specialist with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife , is to create a brand around the Androscoggin and the Kennebec. Both are big rivers that are close to a big marketplace, in this case, the entire Northeast as far south as the Mason-Dixon line, and they have the tourist infrastructures already in place to offer a comfortable vacation, as well as options for non-fishing members of a family.

Pierce draws parallels to the Madison River in Montana or the Yellowstone River that snakes through Montana and Wyoming. "Those are brands in the angling community that are highly regarded, like Apple and Microsoft are highly recognized brands in the computer industry," Pierce says. "If we create that energy around the upper Andro and the Kennebec, we will establish those as brands and people will come and spend money and they will have an economic benefit."

I have a lot of respect for Bill Pierce and I believe he has done a remarkable job marketing Maine's outdoor industry with very limited funds. I agree that we can draw some parallels with our rivers in Maine to the Madison and Yellowstone, but we will never be those for several reasons. That shouldn't however hinder our efforts to continue to promote the assets each of our three major rivers hold.

Phil Monahan, editor of American Angler magazine in Bennington, Vermont put it this way.

Maine has the best fly fishing in New England, and could certainly become a regional paradise for anglers if it promoted itself more. But he doesn't think the upper Androscoggin or the Kennebec will ever have the allure a river like the Yellowstone does for anglers. "Fly fishing tourism to a certain extent depends on a sense of romance for the angler," Monahan says. "You just say 'the Yellowstone' to any fly fisherman and it conjures up images. I don't know how the town of Bethel can generate that same kind of excitement."

Whether Maine's rivers are a draw to tourists or not and how much that will translate into revenue for struggling businesses remains to be seen. There are two issues that I see that are stumbling blocks for those eager to promote these rivers.

Be assured that not all Mainers want to see the rivers used more. Maine is a unique state in that many of her people are very eager to keep Maine as it is today or perhaps see it regress twenty or thirty years. Without the support of the majority of the people, promoting the rivers for tourism is that much harder.

The second issue is one that I touched on briefly before - promoting the river at the expense of others. Some sportsmen, as well as tourism officials, believe that it is the "Orvis" or "Cabela's" or the "L.L. Bean" fly fishermen that has deep pockets and will save Maine by bringing in the big spenders to fish our native brook trout and associated waters. Whether that can and will happen, I haven't a clue but it can't be done at the expense of shutting down the rest of the fishing industry or at a minimum, giving it the short end of the stick.

As pressure mounts from groups promoting fly fishing as the end all to the fishing industry, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is facing decisions on regulation of its waters. For the fly fisherman searching for the ultimate experience, he wants a "Yellowstone" river. This means managing that body of water for that purpose and that purpose only. When this is done, it shuts out a bigger majority of spin-casting or general law fishermen, including a lot of kids.

Fishing is a big industry that involves many aspects and disciplines. It requires a balancing act by fish and game to do what is right in both managing fisheries for science and regulating waters to benefit all anglers, which in turn fires the economy.

Even if it is determined that Maine can benefit financially from promoting its waters as a destination fly-fishing haven, we can't shut down the rest of the fishing industry to promote just that niche. We have to find the right balance.

One thing is for sure though. However one views the best way to take advantage of the waters of the Androscoggin, the Kennebec and the Penobsot, none of this will much matter if we don't all do our part to keep these rivers clean and accessible to the public.