Maine Policy Matters Podcast Season 2

The Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center re-launches Maine Policy Matters Podcast September 16, 2022 The Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University of Maine re-launched their podcast “Maine Policy Matters” on Sept. 6. This season of Maine Policy Matters will feature essays, research and interviews on timely topics relevant to Maine to make public […]

Special Maine Policy Review issue on impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic is now available

Maine Policy Review’s special issue examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Maine is now available in both print and on MPR’s Digital Commons site. A brief look at this issue is available on MPR’s website. The articles in MPR, Vol. 30, No. 2, fall into three broad categories. Several articles examine the measurable […]

Maine Trail Visitor Count 2019 to 2021

Maine Trail Use During COVID-19: Project Summary Kathryn Ballingall, Research Associate, Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center, UMaine Kathleen Bell, Professor, School of Economics, UMaine Maine, like many states, lacks detailed and consistent trail usage data. Trail usage data are critical to making informed decisions about investments in new trails and the maintenance and management of […]

Road Salt in Maine: An Assessment of Practices, Impacts and Safety

The Road Salt in Maine: An Assessment of Practices, Impacts and Safety report presents the results from a research project by a team from the University of Maine, in cooperation with the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT), that examines the use of road salt in Maine for winter travel safety. It summarizes winter maintenance practices, […]

Maine Policy Review, Volume 30, Number 1, Now Available Online

The first issue of Maine Policy Review, Volume 30, presenting articles on a range of issues affecting Maine, is now available on MPR’s Digital Commons site. A brief look at this issue is available on MPR’s website. The new issue starts off with the Margaret Chase Smith Essay by Richard Barringer in which he discusses […]

Katie Tims – 2021 Graduate of UMaine and Summer Government Intern with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection

Katie Tims – 2021 Maine Government Summer Intern Tims is a 2021 graduate of UMaine with a B.S. in Biology and a concentration in Pre-Medical Studies. As a participant in the Maine Government Summer Internship Program she was a summer intern with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection in the Bureau of Remediation and Waste […]

Marielle Pelletier – 2021-22 MCS Public Affairs Scholar – examining barriers to population control for domestic animals and their effect on the underserved community

The 2019 Statewide Economic Contribution of Maine’s Forest Products Sector

A new report on “The 2019 Statewide Economic Contribution of Maine’s Forest Products Sector” by Megan Bailey and Sheldon Green has been published. Maine’s forest products sector includes a multitude of components including but not limited to businesses, organizations, and individuals involved with logging and forestry, paper and related product manufacturing, sawmills and wood-product manufacturing, […]

Credit Enhancement Strategies for Higher Efficiency Vehicles in Maine

Erin Brown, Jonathan Rubin, and Bruce Wyatt published a new report entitled “Credit Enhancement Strategies for Higher Efficiency Vehicles in Maine” which reviews two credit enhancements mechanisms and their impact on access to clean, reliable vehicles. Enhancements are necessary because lower-income and historically disadvantaged groups have less access to low-cost financing. They are not sufficient […]

New Report on Transportation and Climate in Maine

In a new report “Effects of the Transportation and Climate Initiative Program in Maine: A Study of Rural and Urban Households” by William Somes and Jonathan Rubin, the MCS Policy Center examines the differential effects of the Program in Maine. As climate awareness continues to grow, many states are taking matters into their own hands. […]