Innovators in Rural Community Economic Development

Maine

Yellow Wood brings a special combination of content and process expertise to our work.

We invite you to explore our work.  Recent projects and presentations are listed below.  You can explore additional work using the various tags in the right hand column.

WealthWorks Training, October 2014 - August 2015

Participants in the third WealthWorks training, which began in October 2014 and runs through August 2015, come from organizations and states across the country, including Agricultural Utilization Research Institute…

Land Trust Alliance Northeast Farmland Preservation Grantee Meeting Facilitation

Yellow Wood worked with the Land Trust Alliance Northeast Region and the 1772 Foundation to plan and facilitate a meeting of farmland preservation grantees.  The Land Trust Alliance Northeast Region has a collaborative relationship with the 1772 Foundation…

Becoming a Measurement Guide Coaching, Molly Anderson, Farm to Institution New England

Shanna Ratner provided coaching and mentoring to 2007 Measurement Guide Molly Anderson, Partridge Chair in Food & Sustainable Agriculture Systems, College of the Atlantic, during a You Get What You Measure® in Use session with Farm to Institution New…

Farm to Institution New England (FINE) Planning Retreat

FINE is a network of organizations working to strengthen farm to institution connections throughout New England. Yellow Wood worked with FINE using You Get What You Measure® to engage multiple stakeholders in clarifying its external goals, creating…

New England Beef to Institution Steering Committee Facilitation

Yellow Wood served as a strategic partner and facilitator for eight monthly calls with the New England Beef to Institution Steering Committee. The purpose of the group is to cultivate a Community of Practice that enables participants to discuss challenges…

Maine Coast Heritage Trust, Feasibility Study for Blueberry East Food Ventures

Yellow Wood worked with the Blueberry East Food Ventures (BEFV), a cooperative of blueberry growers in Maine, to evaluate the feasibility of establishing a fruit processing facility for conventional and organic blueberries in Washington County, Maine.…

Suri Paco, LLC, Industry Feasibility Study

Yellow Wood worked with Suri Paco to evaluate the costs and benefits of an expanded wholesale production program, including demand, supply and processing of domestic alpaca fiber for a range of value-added products, including bales, non-woven felt,…

Wood Energy Utilization Services

In an effort to help the Northeast and Midwest meet their needs for renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction through the sustainable utilization of woody biomass, the U.S. Forest Service engaged Yellow Wood Associates in conducting third party…

Measurement Workshop, Portland, Maine, November 2012

Melissa Levy and Ruth Feldman co-presented a full-day public workshop on the You Get What You Measure® process in Portland, ME. Attendees came from the Maine Association of Nonprofits, the Maine Community Foundation, the University of Southern Maine,…

Save Passamaquoddy Bay / Canada, Public Meeting: The Future of LNG in the Bay

As part of a public meeting on the future of LNG in the Bay, Shanna Ratner presented on Potential Economic and Fiscal Impacts of LNG Terminals in the Passamaquoddy Bay Region, based on work prepared for the State of Maine Technical Working Group in…

Maine Community Forest Workshops

Shanna Ratner of Yellow Wood Associates facilitated two daylong participatory workshops for communities that owned and managed forestland and for communities that were interested in acquiring forestland, using Yellow Wood’s See the Forest® interactive…

Passamaquoddy Bay Review of Environmental Impact Statement and Testimony to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

In a continuation of our work with Save Passamaquoddy Bay, Yellow Wood reviewed the draft Environmental Impact Statement prepared for the Downeast LNG project and provided written testimony to FERC on the impact of LNG on Socioeconomics in Passamaquoddy…

Green Community Technologies®: Phase II, Improving Decision-making for Sustainable Infrastructure

Yellow Wood worked with 9 communities throughout New England on inventory and assessment and research on alternative technologies.

Green Community Technologies®: Phase II, New Gloucester, ME

Yellow Wood worked with the Town of New Gloucester to consider alternative approaches to handling municipal solid waste including recyclables. We examined waste reduction, collection, and disposal strategies.

Solid Waste Analysis for the Town of New Gloucester, Maine

Yellow Wood worked with the Town of New Gloucester to consider alternative approaches to handling municipal solid waste including recyclables. We examined waste reduction, collection, and disposal strategies.

Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Outcome Funding Evaluation

Yellow Wood evaluated the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program and its work helping advance farming systems that are profitable, environmentally sound and good for communities through a nationwide research and education…

Passamaquoddy Bay Review of Financial Framework Agreement

In a continuation of our work with Save Passamaquoddy Bay, Yellow Wood provided a Review and Comments on the Financial Framework Agreement between Town of Perry and Quoddy Bay LNG, LLC.

Green Community Technologies®: Phase II, Litchfield, ME

Yellow Wood worked with the Town of Litchfield to complete a municipal infrastructure inventory and assessment.

Home Town Competitiveness Training

Yellow Wood worked with Maine Rural Partners and the RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship to design and facilitate a two-day training based on the award-winning Home Town Competitiveness framework for rural community economic development. The first…

Potential Economic and Fiscal Impacts of LNG Terminals in the Passamaquoddy Bay Region

As part of our work with Save Passamaquoddy Bay, Yellow Wood presented to the State of Maine LNG Technical Working Group on the potential economic and fiscal impacts of LNG terminals in the Passamaquoddy Bay Region.

Passamaquoddy Bay Economic and Fiscal Impact Analysis

Yellow Wood Associates was hired by Save Passamaquoddy Bay to study the economic and fiscal impacts of potential LNG import terminal development on the Passamaquoddy Bay. Economic impacts on real estate and employment were studied, as were fiscal impacts…

Presentation for Harpswell, Maine on Potential Economic and Fiscal Impacts on the Town of Harpswell of the Proposed LNG Terminal

Shanna Ratner presented the findings of Yellow Wood Associates, Inc.’s study of the potential economic and fiscal impacts of a proposed liquid natural gas import terminal on the Town of Harpswell, Maine to an audience of over 150 people in a public…

Analysis of Potential Economic and Fiscal Impacts on the Town of Harpswell, Maine of the LNG Terminal Proposed by TransCanada Pipelines and ConocoPhillips

Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. collected data from primary and secondary sources to assess the potential economic and fiscal impacts of a proposed Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) import terminal on the fishing town of Harpswell, Maine. Work included analyzing…

National Community Forestry Center Northern Forest Region

Citizens and communities of the Northern Forest region have demonstrated the power of local knowledge and participatory research thanks to a grant from the US Department of Agriculture. Over the course of four years, the National Community Forestry…

Maine Low Impact Forestry Project

Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. facilitated a series of focus groups on starting a value-adding forest landowners cooperative to be coordinated by the Maine Low Impact Forestry Project of the Hancock County Planning Commission. Participants included approximately…

Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program Outcome Funding

Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. worked with NESARE in piloting an outcome-funding approach to grantmaking. The work included two year’s participation in the design process, proposal reviews, interviews with potential grantees, committee work to select…

Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SARE)

Served a three-year term on the Administrative Council of the Northeast Region’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program.

Flexible Manufacturing Network for Wood Products Firms

Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. prepared a paper on flexible manufacturing networks for wood products firms for the Maine Rural Development Council and the Maine State Planning Office. The paper includes a discussion of the network concept and profiles…

Maine Community Foundation Retreat

Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. conducted training for the staff and grant recipients of the Maine Community Foundation's Rural Initiative. Training focused on defining poverty and economic security and learning how to measure progress toward the goals…

Keynote Speaker: Northeast Sustainable Communities Project

Ms. Ratner spoke on the topic of "Creating Learning Communities" to community development practitioners in six communities who have been working for four years to promote community sustainability.

Integrated Service Delivery for Secondary Wood Processors

Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. worked with the Maine State Rural Development Council to evaluate a program providing integrated service to secondary wood processors in five areas of the state. The work involved a literature review, on-site interviews,…

Maine Rural Development Council Forum on Community Capacity Building

Presented a report on the concept of capacity building and the measurement tool for community capacity building developed by the Aspen Institute Rural Community Capacity Building Learning Cluster to a cross-section of practitioners and community members.

New England Society of American Foresters

Presented “The Canadian Connection in the Northeast Wood Products Industry” to the New England Society of American Foresters. The talk incorporated recent research into global economic trends affecting the forest industry, log exporting, and the US-Canada…

Strategy Development, Maine Food Strategy Steering Committee

The Maine Food Strategy Steering Committee is a diverse group of stakeholders from around the state. Initiated in December of 2013, the Steering Committee is responsible for guiding the direction of the Maine…