GREENVILLE — The Appalachian Mountain Club and economist Dr. David Vail were recently honored by CEI Capital Management for their commitments to the economic and environmental sustainability of rural communities.

The AMC received the CCML Rural Pacesetter Award for its use of the New Markets Tax Credit program to pursue its Maine Woods Initiative, an approach to land conservation and nature-based recreation in Maine’s 100-Mile Wilderness region that combines outdoor recreation, resource protection, sustainable forestry and community partnerships.

Vail, the Adams-Catlin Professor of Economics Emeritus at Brunswick’s Bowdoin College, received the CCML Rural Prosperity Award for dedicating his career to studying and advocating for sustainable rural development. His current research focus is in two areas: nature based tourism and renewable biomass energy options in northern Maine.

His work has been widely published and referenced for the basis of multiple policy decisions, with titles including “Spreading Prosperity to the ‘Other Maines’” (Maine Center for Economic Policy), “Tourism Strategy for Maine’s North Woods: Creating and Branding a World-class Destination” (Maine Policy Review), and “Collaborating to Revitalize Northern Forest Tourism” (Federal Reserve Bank of Boston).