Maine’s economy has a numbers problem.

By now we are all familiar with the challenges associated with the ongoing pandemic. However, even before the pandemic disrupted life as we knew it, the state was faced with demographic and population challenges that slow and even restrain economic growth.

The 2020 Census found that from 2010-2020 Maine’s population growth was stagnant. The state’s population remains the oldest in the nation, and the median household income is the lowest among the northeastern states. As we focus on a healthy reopening and rebound from the challenges of the pandemic, we must not lose sight of the foundational concerns with the state’s economy.

Improving these numbers takes time and deliberate decision-making, but it also requires avoiding policy decisions that either directly or indirectly set us backwards. This means equal efforts made in promoting new investment and job growth and protecting heritage industries like the forest products industry.

Unfortunately, outside interest groups and the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) want to force the removal of four dams on the lower Kennebec River, and the potential byproducts of those decisions conflict with the demands of a healthy state economy, now and into the future.

Most glaring is the potential removal of the Shawmut Dam in Fairfield and the economic harm that would result for Sappi’s Somerset Mill. The mill employs more than 700 union jobs, supporting incomes above state and national averages. The mill also supports thousands of supply chain jobs, patronage of locally owned retailers and restaurants, and a tax base that makes possible the community investments our area needs to retain and support a healthy and productive population.

But even with those contributions, recent data from the Maine Department of Labor confirms Somerset County has the highest unemployment rate in the state.

Our state policymakers, then, should be looking to preserve the existing industries instead of supporting efforts that prioritize five fish a year over thousands of family-sustaining jobs. In addition, given the state of Maine’s commitments to bold climate change policies, it is critical to leverage existing renewable energy generation, including the lower Kennebec River dams. Preserving existing renewable generation ensures we avoid moving sideways in our efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions, in particular.

Despite recent statements intended to provide certainty to Sappi and its local employees, the area business community still remains in a state of uncertainty about its fate and that of the Shawmut Dam. Now more than ever our region needs policies that support the industries that have chosen to invest here, not policies that overlook these contributions or take them for granted. As our region’s businesses recover from setbacks caused by the pandemic, this is an inopportune time to cause economic uncertainty for our region.

I encourage the Maine Department of Marine Resources and the Department of Environmental Protection to end the economic uncertainty they have created for our region by playing a supportive role in the relicensing of the Shawmut Dam. This means approving the Shawmut Dam’s water quality certification to ensure its continued operation and avoid economic harm to the Somerset Mill.

These positive actions will benefit Sappi’s employees, and our region’s and state’s economy as a whole. And it would represent the stability we need to work through our number’s problem.

Kimberly Nadeau Lindlof is president and CEO of the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce.

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