Kayakers and canoers set out on the Orange River in Whiting for an event organized by the Maine Coast Heritage Trust. Joyce Kryszak/The Maine Monitor The roar of summer traffic on Route 1 as it zooms over the Pleasant River bridge in Columbia drowns out the burbling water below. The slip of river meandering under the road is easy to miss.
Even less visible is the Pleasant River Fish and Game Conservation Association, tucked among the dense woods a short drive, or paddle, away. But the volunteer club has been around since the 1950s, working to preserve and promote the region’s vast natural resources. Later this month, the association will hold its annual Puckerbrush Primitive Gathering, where about 200 visitors from near and far will come to camp and learn traditional outdoor skills.
Larry Balchen, a member of the group who helped found the event, believes Maine’s Downeast region is at an inflection point. “There are a lot of people here who don’t really understand the value of what’s around us,” said Balchen. “They want to build attractions, but the fact that there is nothing here is the attraction.
” In the past decade, the state and roughly a dozen large nonprofit conservation groups have caught on to the idea that land and water preservation could also help boost the region’s lagging economy. Washington County has the highest poverty rate in the state, with nearly one-fifth of residents living below the poverty line, according to the 2022 American Communit.