The Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan is Governor Mills’ plan, approved by the Legislature, to invest nearly $1 billion in federal American Rescue Plan funds to improve the lives of Maine people and families, help businesses, create good-paying jobs, and build an economy poised for future prosperity. To learn more, visit the Jobs Plan website.

JOBS PLAN SPOTLIGHT

Investments in Heritage Industries

Forestry Recovery Initiative: On December 9, 2022, the Jobs Plan's Forestry Recovery Initiative awarded $14 million in grants to 19 Maine forestry and wood products businesses.Awards made through the second and final round of the program will support forward-looking industry projects that address new market demands, provide new sustainable products, or otherwise advance the long-term stability of the forestry industry.

The program is one of three initiatives of the Governor’s Jobs Plan to support the recovery of Maine’s heritage industries –forestry, fishing and farming – from impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, the Governor’s Jobs Plan has awarded approximately $55 million in recovery funds to 410 businesses in these heritage sectors across all 16 counties in Maine.

See all Jobs Plan investments in heritage industries to date:

FEATURED JOBS PLAN PROGRAMS

Expand High-Speed Broadband: On December 6, 2022, the Maine Connectivity Authority announced 26 awards totaling more than $4 million in funding and support to community, regional and tribal organizations through the Regional & Tribal Broadband Partners and Get Ready Community Support programs. These initiatives, funded through the Jobs Plan, will support community-driven broadband solutions that ensure universal connectivity, strengthen and grow the number of partners thinking about digital equity and inclusion, and create increased alignment and coordination between communities, regions, and the state. 

On December 19, 2022, the Maine Connectivity Authority also announced three awards totaling more than $1 million in funding through the Jumpstart Connectivity Initiative. These projects will provide accelerated low-cost internet access to some of the least served areas of the state by trialing the deployment of various innovative wireless technologies.

Rural Clinical Preceptorships: On December 13, 2022 Governor Mills announced a $2.25 million investment to strengthen Maine’s health care workforce by expanding training opportunities for health care professionals in rural communities and establishing a new system to match people to those opportunities. The funds, administered by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, will expand training opportunities for doctors, nurses, social workers, and other health professionals in rural communities and encourage aspiring health care workers to launch rewarding careers in Down East, northern, and western Maine, where health care providers are in demand. 

Workforce Transportation Pilot Program: The Maine Department of Transportation announced on November 2, 2022 that it has awarded a $387,200 grant from the Workforce Transportation Pilot Program to Sunday River of Newry. The grant program, an initiative of Governor Mills' Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, supports local and regional pilot projects that connect workers to employers through ridesharing, vanpools, and other transit options.

Fish Hatcheries Infrastructure Revitalization: On November, 2, 2022, the Maine Department of Inland Fish & Wildlife announced a $20 million investment in Maine's fish hatcheries. These funds will be used to modernize the Grand Lake Stream and New Gloucester Fish Hatcheries, as well as water outflow at IFWs six other hatcheries. The initial phase of the redesign and reconstruction is underway, and construction plans will be put out to bid by early spring, with construction starting in the summer of 2023.

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