Are there any river tubing businesses near Baxter State Park? If not, I think that would be a great business to start. http://sacorivertubing.com/  It is fun to tube in a lazy river. Usually these trips are a couple of miles long and along the way you can stop and relax on a sand bar, have a picnic or play on rope swings. This is a great alternative to river rafting, especially if you have young children. I know there are rules for certain rivers, but thought I would throw the idea out there. On the flip side, what about building a snow tubing park. There are plenty of great hills in the area.

I think the Millinocket area would be the perfect place to build a botanical garden. Boothbay Harbor, Maine has a beautiful large botanical garden. It has 270 acres of gardens, trails, water features and exhibits to explore, and there are plenty of places to just sit and relax. It has a few play areas for children, a cafe and a gift shop. This particular botanical garden has a coastal flair, but one in Millinocket could play off of a North Woods theme. I think this would be a very complementary attraction to Baxter State Park. They charge about $16 for the day for adults and $8 for children or you can purchase a membership.http://www.mainegardens.org/

I race mountain bikes in a category called 'ultra endurance'. This category of racing brings great attention to small places that host 100 mile and 24 hr circuit races, the central need being rugged, laden with trails, and beautiful. Moab 24 ....Bend 100 ...Leadville 100 ...Ducktown (Cohutta 100) ....Dolohnega (Fools Gold 100)...et cetera....

A Katahdin 100 properly planned and executed could become a part of the NUE Series, and would bring olympic and other amateur and pro talent to a race staged to start and finish in Millinocket, that coursed through the rugged AT area and back. All major such races in the US regularly obtain permits for temporary access to restricted public and private lands, from pristine areas of southern Utah around Zion to outside Jackson in the Tetons. The best model for a Katahdin 100 would be a hybrid of the Mohican 100 in Ohio and the Wilderness 101 in central Pennsylvania.

In order to step out of the box for economic development, compile a list of community assets with the technical specifications for one to consider for placing a new industry in the region and/or as a component to marketing materials to attract companies to consider the region. Examples of Assets: Waste Water Treatment ability, Power Generation, Airport, Rail, School System Utilization etc.

Walmart has pledged a certain percent of domestic US made products. Meet with purchasing to understand target products to partner with foreign companies to locate in the Katahdin region. Check out this small start up that is a result of Buy American Made purchasing initiatives at Walmart. http://m.timesdispatch.com/news/local/new-factory-will-create---jobs-in-pulaski/article_6d417aaa-ede5-11e3-9ef9-001a4bcf6878.html?mode=jqm

Low start-up cost, plenty of land available, very low maintenance. Some companies have started mailing Christmas Trees. When additional land is needed. The lumber can be sold to offset the cost