Rivers have always been a part of the economy of the USA. Many rivers were used as power and dumping grounds for manufacturing until recently. Today rivers are becoming new focal points of communities through an improved quality of life that healthy water bodies provide, as well as new recreation and tourism opportunities. Maine’s Presumpscot River is a good example of this dynamic change. This talk documents the river’s transition toward a tourism destination and highlights the systems and infrastructure still needed to sustain this work.

Tracy S. Michaud, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor and Chair of the Tourism & Hospitality Program at the University of Southern Maine. She focuses her teaching and research on sustainable rural tourism development in Maine and the North Atlantic. As an anthropologist her work is on understanding transitions in tourism management through social media, and concepts of authenticity, sense of place, and quality of life as they are connected to and influenced by tourism development.