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Conservation, Elevating Outdoor Recreation are Shared Economic Priorities
This week, representatives from the Magalloway Collaborative team joined more than 400 leaders, policymakers, educators, business owners, other nonprofits, and outdoor advocates at the 2026 Maine Outdoor Economy Summit in Portland — a pivotal gathering focused on growing Maine’s outdoor recreation economy.
The summit, framed around the Maine Outdoor Recreation Economy Roadmap, highlights a shared state vision to expand Maine’s outdoor sector by 10% over the next decade and solidify its role as a meaningful economic driver.
At the summit, presenters from across sectors showcased strategies and community-driven projects that align with the Roadmap’s goals, including workforce development, expanded access, inclusive recreation, and infrastructure investment.
Mark Berry, forest program director at the Nature Conservancy in Maine, touted the Magalloway Collaborative’s work over the past year to conserve 78,000 acres of lands and waters in western Maine. “This is an outstanding outdoor opportunity area that’s treasured and really important to its local communities, but it’s also easily accessible by a massive human population, and that leads to real pressure on the landscape and real urgency to the conservation approach,” Berry said.
As this Portland Press Herald article states, outdoor recreation, and the public access that conservation secures, helps contribute $3.4 billion to Maine’s economy, represented 3.7% of the state’s gross domestic product and that more than 30,000 jobs.
The main takeaway: collaborative, largescale conservation efforts can secure Maine’s outdoor recreation future.