State trade fact sheets - Maine

Manulife Buys Maine Timberland for Carbon Sequestration

Hancock Natural Resource Group Inc., a subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corp. has bought a large tract of forest in Maine to maintain as a carbon sink and source of revenue from third-party emitters seeking offsets in a growing voluntary market. The Boston-based Hancock Natural Resource Group Inc. has acquired more than 36,000 hectares of timberland along the border with Quebec. It will use the investment to generate income from selling carbon offsets and harvesting timber. The voluntary carbon offset market, where companies can purchase credits to counteract their own emissions, is worth billions of dollars and expected to grow in the future.

Building a New Bridge Between Maine & Canada

After nearly a century of wear and tear, the Madawaska-Edmunston International Bridge over the St. John River will be dismantled to make way for a new one. The project will be funded in part by a $36 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation and officials are talking with counterparts in Canada about how to split the remaining $38 million. The present 942-foot-long bridge serves as a vital link to Canada for Maine companies such as Twin Rivers Paper Co., one of the largest employers in northern Maine. Construction of the new bridge began in June 2021 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.

LL Bean Expands to Canada

LL Bean, the iconic outdoor outfitter from Freeport, Maine, has integrated into the Canadian market with several successful endeavors since 2018. They launched a Canadian e-commerce site in the fall of 2018, followed by the launch of a Canada-specific catalog and the opening of the first Canadian store in 2019. The company has nine stores across the country.