AROOSTOOK COUNTY, Maine — Aroostook County is a little more than 21% of Maine's total area, making it the state's largest county. It's actually bigger than Connecticut and Rhode Island combined.
But according to the most recent U.S. Census, the "Crown of Maine" has experienced the worst population decline of any county in the state. The County's population has declined an estimated 6.6% over the last 10 years and 10% over the last 20 years.
"It's concerning, obviously," said Don Flannery, executive director of the Presque Isle-based Maine Potato Board.
Others in Aroostook County share Flannery's opinion.
"I've been here 25 years, so I've seen that change and ... there are definitely new challenges," said Ray Rice, president of the University of Maine at Presque Isle.
"I don't lay awake at night thinking about it, but there is not a day that goes by I don't think about it, because it impacts schools directly," said Tim Doak, former schools superintendent in Caribou.
Some have attributed the population decrease to lower birth rates. Others said they aren't concerned because they said they've actually seen an influx of people due to the pandemic.
One thing is clear: the Aroostook County population took a deep dive in the 1990s due to the closure of Loring Air Force Base. Many say the number of young people has declined, as many leave and never come back.
"Growing up in Fort Fairfield, we were graduating classes of 70-80-90 kids," Doak said. "Last year (it) was 22."
Doak said there's a smaller workforce pool, fewer students, and less business. He said officials need to promote Aroostook County's benefits, from the small schools that allow students to get more attention, to the low crime rate, to the beauty of the landscape.
"Those are the three factors ... that would sell any region," he said.
Rice said when he first came to the university, 70% of students were from The County; now the majority are from out of state.
He said the institution changed what it offers to students.
"We are able to ensure that every student in every program is able to engage in an internship or an externship," he said. "We wanted to ensure we had programs that are important to Aroostook County, and important to the infrastructure and the communities here ... because we knew there weren't going to be enough people of traditional age to fill those needs."
UMaine Presque Isle and UMaine Fort Kent added online programs, which has helped the universities keep up enrollment numbers up, but the catch is most of those students don't end up living in The County.
Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King said northern Maine is a place where you don't have to sacrifice community to find opportunities.
"Aroostook County is a microcosm of Maine, where our principal problem historically has been location, geography, far away the upper right-hand corner of the country, but we are moving into a time and that's where I keep coming back to broadband where for the first time in history, you can work where you live instead of having to live where you work," King said. "It also has a secret quality that isn't all that well known, even in the rest of Maine. It's a real community."
"You can still afford to buy a home there, and that's a big plus as well, a lot of it is dispelling the myth that there aren't jobs in Aroostook county, there are jobs, there are very good jobs, small communities where there is a sense of neighbor caring for one another, and that to me is what makes the county so special," Collins said.
Jon Gulliver, director of economic and community development for the Northern Maine Development Commission, said the Aroostook County Empowerment Zone was designated in 2002, with the region qualifying due to the large population loss since the 1960s.
"With the closure of Loring Air Force Base in 1994 and the ongoing changes in the potato and forest industries, the traditional economic engines of the region, this population loss accelerated," Gulliver said. "Empowerment zone designation was seen as an important change in direction because the federal funding available through the EZ programs could have a powerful positive impact on the regional economy."
Gulliver said all that remains of the original empowerment zone designation is a tax incentive, which has benefited many businesses in the region.
"It amounts to a tax credit of $3,000 per employee if the employee and business are located in the EZ," he said. "Not all of Aroostook is EZ-designated."
He said Congress has reauthorized the EZ a few times, but emphasized it's not a permanent tax credit.
Mills, plants, hospitals, and post-secondary schools are some of the economic drivers of the region, he said. Those organizations include Twin Rivers Paper Company, Columbia Forest Products, Irving, Daaquam Lumber Maine, Huber, McCain Foods, and Pineland Farms, among others.
The two main economic engines of the region are the potato and forest products industries.
Flannery, the Maine Potato Board executive director, said there are solid opportunities for people in the agronomy world.
"We have a lot of opportunities and a lot of resources for someone to do that work," he said.
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Darrell McCrum, manager of County Farms, said there are good careers available for young people.
"It's important to show the youth that there is active and good careers here in Aroostook County, I think that's a big reason why the school break is essential to get the kids out and work through the harvest because they can then see there's a lot of opportunities in the agriculture industry," he said.
McCrum is among those who opened and run the new McCrum facility in Washburn, bringing 150 jobs to the area.
"The majority of workers at this plant are from Aroostook County," he said. "That just shows you what can happen in any community, if industry moves in and brings new jobs, new growth, any community that may be falling behind can move forward again."
King said his efforts to provide faster internet to The County will also make a difference.
"That I think is a real game changer," King said. "We are in the process, principally because of the bipartisan infrastructure bill that passed in 2021, of providing broadband service to every household in Maine, including in Aroostook County."
Recently, 20 business leaders created the nonprofit Aroostook Partnership to ensure economic vitality and growth in The County.
"It's no secret what's happening with baby boomers exiting the workforce," said Paul Towle, the partnership's former president and CEO. "We are an old county in an old state, so we had to take a look at this and get proactive about it."
He said the organization markets The County, highlights its job opportunities, and breaks down the cost of living.
"People ... hear about the county but they are unsure what it is," Towle said. "I think we are going to have a great deal of more success than we have had in the past."
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Collins said she encourages young families to move to Aroostook County.
"It's a wonderful place to grow up, as I and my 5 brothers and sisters can testify," she said.
Born and raised in Caribou, Collins said in the last three years she has secured $150 million dollars in projects in the region, including revitalizing Madawaska and Houlton's downtowns, a new public safety facility in Washburn, a new fire station in Sinclair, a new police department in Caribou, and better roads.
She said the region's forest products industry is vital.
"We have a very vibrant mill in Madawaska, the Twin Rivers mill, but I think there is more that can be done with forest products in Aroostook County," she said. "I think we are going to see a big influx of people who come to see the eclipse and they will look around ... I hope they like what they see," she said.
Added King, "In my view, in the 21st century, the nice places are going to win, and Aroostook County is a really nice place."