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Old Town Canoe still sells wooden canoes, though only five or so a year, according to Cote. They are, after all, the most expensive to build and retail for more than $7,000 a piece. Because of the low demand, the company outsources their construction to an artisan in Dover-Foxcroft who makes them by hand.

In Maine, the value of Mother Nature, not counting tourism dollars, natural resource-based businesses or other revenue derived from the outdoors, accounts for more than $14 billion per year.

One example in the study is Sebago Lake, which provides drinking water that’s clean enough not to be filtered before it is piped to the 200,000 customers of the Portland Water District. The study estimates the EPA’s filtration waiver — based on the cleanliness of Sebago Lake — has saved taxpayers at least $146 million, which is the approximate cost of a new water filtration plant.