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Down East Resource Conservation & Development
Where Need Meets Opportunity......and Progress is Made!!

 

Logo for Down East RC&D

 

logo for the Vacationland Resources Committee

Vacationland Resources Committee (VRC)

Our mission is to promote sustainable tourism* practices in Down East Maine.
* The World Tourism Organization describes sustainable tourism as "a model form of economic development...[I}t is development of the physical community, the social environment, and the economy which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." 



Check out the "Discover DownEast & Acadia" Map
 
Please note, this is a very large (12MB) file and may take a long time to load.   It will print poster-size.   Limited printed copies of the map are available from the Washington County Council of Governments. 
Please email Judy East if you would like one.




Listen here to VRC members Sherry Churchill, Fred Cook, and Natalie Springuel

discuss nature-based tourism
with Ron Beard on WERU's
"Talk of the Towns" 
broadcast on Sept. 25, 2009 


Newsletters
Our newsletters are published quarterly.  Click below for .pdfs of each of them.

January 2010 Newsletter!


October 2009 Newsletter


Some of our current projects include
 (click on icons for more information):

Down East Fisheries Trail Logo

and the 

Down East Nature Based Tourism Initiative

Chickadee - Maine's Nature Based Tourism Initiative Logo



*** DESTINY 2010***


The VRC has also written “A Resource Guide for Sustainable Tourism in Down East Maine and Southwest New Brunswick”.  Tourism businesses and destinations have identified a need for better access to resources for greening their operations and incorporating best practices in various aspects of sustainable tourism.  Responding to this need, the VRC joined forces with Maine Sea Grant, The Sunrise County Economic Council, DownEast & Acadia Regional Tourism and the Washington County Council of Governments to write and submit a grant to the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment to prepare the guide.



Vacationland Resources Committee (VRC) is a group of business, environmental and planning professionals, extension agents, volunteers and tourism providers working together on sustainable tourism projects in eastern Maine.    VRC wrote the sustainable tourism plan DESTINY 2010 (Down East Sustainable Tourism INitiative Year 2010) for Maine's Hancock and Washington Counties, and has sponsored workshops and conferences to encourage businesses to incorporate and highlight sustainable practices. 
Interested in being part of VRC?  New members are always welcome.  Click here for more information and send us an email!
 

VRC Members:

Barbara Arter, BSA Environmental Consulting
Sherry Churchill, Savory Bay Environmental Planning and Project Management
Stephanie Clement, Friends of Acadia
Harold Clossey, Sunrise County Economic Council
Fred Cook, DownEast & Acadia Regional Tourism
Judy East, Washington County Council of Governments

Alvion Kimball, Bucksport Bay Area Chamber of Commerce
Barbara Maurer, Down East RC&D and DownEast & Acadia Regional Tourism
Misha Mytar, Maine Department of Conservation
Sarah Nugent, Down East Business Alliance, Washington Hancock Community Agency
Jennifer Peters, Sunrise County Economic Council
Phil Savignano, Maine Office of Tourism
Meg Scheid, Saint Croix Island International Historic Site
Natalie Springuel, VRC Chair, Maine Sea Grant

 

Some of Our Past Events

 

  • Marketing Your DownEast Tourism Business, November 13, 2008

 

  • Sustainable and Experiential Tourism WorkshopMarch 17, 2006



          
For more information on the Vacationland Resources Committee contact:

Barbara Maurer                    Phone: (207) 546-2368
Down East RC&D                FAX:  (207) 546-3859
PO Box 210                           e-mail: dercd@downeastrcd.com
Cherryfield, ME  04622 



Please take advantage of the e-mail link above and write and tell us what you would like to see on this web page, such as  links to business training opportunities,  links to ecotourism projects around the world, locally written articles on what is going on in Down East Maine,  or suggestions of other projects you would like to see the committee pursue. 



Press Release Archives:


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Down East RC&D & J.C. Milliken building

Natural Resources Conservation Service | National RC&D Site | Directory of Maine RC&D Offices
Down East RC&D - Where need meets opportunity.......and progress is made!
These pages are currently being maintained by Charles Armstrong and Barbara Maurer.
Page Last Modified: 11/17/09