Hickel’s Tunnel
Just one big idea could transform Maine. It all starts with two words that are all-too-scarce these days: “What if . . . ?
In 1981, our family left Maine for Alaska, where I was to head a center for entrepreneurship development. Within days of arrival, I met with the chair of my advisory board, former Alaska governor Wally Hickel. We stood at his penthouse office window looking out at Mt. McKinley in the distance. He set a hand on my shoulder and said, “Young man, if we were to build a tunnel under the Bering Strait, we could run unit trains from London to New York by way of Alaska and Siberia.” The U.S. has never grabbed onto Hickel’s vision, but Russia, with an abundance of oil, natural gas, and electricity it could supply to U.S. markets, periodically revisits the tunnel idea.
Visioning is not a strategic plan or road map. It is a gathering of the clans, the setting of a tone. It is bigger than self-interest, public policy think tanks, or the latest “cause célèbre.” It is something Maine needs now.
Visioning is looking at Portland as the northern anchor to one of the richest regional economies on the globe. Portland serves 32,000 square miles of Maine and its 3,500-mile coastline. Portland’s harbor is one half-day closer to the European Union by containership than are the seaports of Baltimore and New York. In a world where time and fuel are big money, this difference is enormous, and the vast economic Maine hinterland to the north and east of Cumberland County offers extraordinary growth potential with only 20 people per square mile.
Consider the confluence of the Androscoggin and Kennebec Rivers at Merrymeeting Bay. This Maine landmass represents 20% of New England—a watershed comprised of the transforming Lewiston/Auburn area; the Augusta/Waterville government and service centers; the three top-shelf colleges of Bowdoin, Bates, and Colby; the world-class Bath Iron Works; and nearby Bigelow Labs—all potentially served by the most underutilized, international East Coast airport at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station. Visionaries might ask, what would it take for this feature-rich region to realize its full economic potential?
Now visualize the Penobscot River Corridor, from Millinocket to Sears Island, 80 miles long, four miles wide. It is less than 1% of Maine’s landmass, yet contains existing water, rail, interstate, oil, gas, power, and bandwidth corridors. Its headwaters are comprised of the largest contiguous, commercially-owned working forest east of the Mississippi—flanked by land grant and professional universities, magnet hospitals, and excellent sailing and port potential. Adjoining Mount Desert is a collage of world-class biological research, a national park, maritime entrepreneurs, and summer billionaires. What would it take to make the Penobscot Corridor into Maine’s economic driver while preserving its essential character?
The answers to visionary questions can sometimes be answered by smaller success stories, and the gem of Eastport can teach us a great deal about the synergies of private sector revitalization. Husson University’s rebuilding of the nation’s oldest boat school in Eastport gives the community a net inflow of college students. Nearby Raye’s Mustard is a classic example of reverse engineering of a traditional fish-process-related business. Its deepwater port now exports pulp to China and imports wind blades from China for Vinalhaven, and citizens are developing its downtown and working on innovative tidal projects. Eastport perfectly exemplifies the entrepreneurial visioning potential of so many small Maine towns.
Visions for a more prosperous Maine future can only be unleashed if government plays a more supportive and less commanding role. In energy, arguably Maine’s largest constraint on prosperity, energy investors see Maine’s hydro, nuclear, fossil, peat, conservation, offshore oil and gas potential, and strategic location vis-à-vis Hydro-Quebec, not to mention renewables, as all deserving a seat at the table. To unleash such investment in Maine, few are asking Maine to lower its regulatory standards, but rather to eliminate regulatory risk, uncertainty, adversarial relationships, and delay. They are asking to make Maine’s regulations more “incentive” and less “prescriptive” in nature. Their tax cry is less for reform than for reduction to a competitive level, and for stability in tax policies over time. The tragedy of the excellent Business Equipment Tax Reimbursement (BETR) program is the seemingly annual proposal to change or eliminate it, which discounts its value in the eyes of investors.
For visioning, we must ask questions such as: “What would it take to persuade the emirate of Abu Dhabi to invest some of its $400 billion of reserves in Maine rather than somewhere else in the world?” Needless to say, Maine’s economic future isn’t about Abu Dhabi, but asking such questions will help us find answers to more puzzling ones, like “What would it take to have Mainers logically invest in Maine and for retirees to stay in their homes, churches, and communities, not move away? What would it take for Maine’s next generation to envision raising a family and earning a great living in Maine?” Visioning looks past the current blocking and tackling and sets our gaze 10 to 20 years down the road.
The day will come when each of us will be standing at the proverbial window, with our hand on the next generation’s shoulder, looking out at the Maine landscape, visioning, and saying “Young lady, what if we were to build . . . ?”
What will we say?
Bill Beardsley of Ellsworth served as president of Husson University for 22 years. A version of this column was previously published in the Ellsworth American.
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