Jeff McCabe was announced Wednesday as the new director of Maine’s Office of Outdoor Recreation. Photo courtesy of the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development

Jeff McCabe is the new director of Maine’s Office of Outdoor Recreation, the state announced Wednesday.

The outdoor recreation office is a part of Maine’s tourism office in the Department of Economic and Community Development.

McCabe succeeds Carolann Ouellette, who was promoted in May to lead the tourism office. Ouellette had been Maine’s tourism director from 2010-2016. McCabe, a former Democratic majority leader in the Maine House, had served as deputy director of outdoor recreation since November.

“Maine’s Outdoor Recreation economy is strong and growing,” McCabe said in a statement. “It has been an honor to work with and to hear from those in the industry from across the state and I look forward to the work ahead.”

The Office of Outdoor Recreation was established in 2019 to leverage the state’s parks, waters, woods and mountains; to grow that sector of the economy; and to build Maine’s reputation as a destination for activities such as fishing, camping and snow sports.

“Jeff will be able to seamlessly continue and build upon the important work being done in outdoor recreation to contribute to Maine’s economy,” said Heather Johnson, commissioner of economic and community development.

About 32,000 people work in the outdoor recreation industry in Maine, which contributes about $3.3 billion annually and makes up nearly 4% of the state economy, according to the department. Maine ranks sixth in the country in terms of the value that the industry adds to the state economy.