A recent study conducted by the University of Maine and supported by the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions has found that Maine lakes have an economic value of $14 billion.
The study, which focused on 150 lakes of varying size and location, was launched in part by a desire to update figures from a 1997 study that valued lakes at around $5 billion. The new study took a multi-faceted approach to defining “value”. Researchers considered factors such as lakefront home values, summer camp revenues, water consumption, money spent on recreational activities, and more.
