The Woods & Waters shop recently opened in downtown Millinocket. They sell apparel, wine, Maine beers and other Maine-made products.

Steve Golieb and Ashley Wells pose for a portrait in their bookstore, cafe and wine bar Turn the Page in downtown Millinocket. The couple, who are both 28 years old, also run a small natural food manufacturing company Edible Wilds. Golieb, who is originally from New York, but has lived in Maine for sometime, and Wells, originally from Texas, see a lot of potential for the town, especially since the designation of the national monument.

Woody Craig has coffee with friends at Debbie's Deli and Pizza in Patten. Craig was raised in and around Patten and his father was a lumberman. He isn't convinced the monument will bring the economic boom people are saying it will.

Emily Wark and Luke DiSilvestro have a beer at the bar at Turn the Page in downtown Millinocket. Wark was born and raised in Millinocket and DiSilvestro lives in Caratunk.

An anti-monument sign in Mike Guiggey's yard on Route 11 in Staceyville near the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.

Peter and Claire Bolster look at signs inside of the Woods & Waters store. Peter spent a part of his childhood living in Millinocket nearly 70 years ago and said the town has changed immeasurably since his childhood. "It was such a vibrant Main Street." he said.

A sign for Turn the Page, a cafe, wine bar and bookshop opened in downtown Millinocket. Shop owners Steve Golieb and Ashley Wells opened the establishment after the designation of the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.

Crafts and other Maine-made products are for sale at the Woods & Waters shop. which recently opened in downtown Millinocket.

Downtown Millinocket was mostly empty on the evening of Wednesday, August 16, 2017. The town has suffered economically since the mill closures, but there are a few new businesses popping up in a few of the shuttered stores in downtown since the designating of the national monument.

A anti-national monument sign sits in a front lawn in Grindstone, near the Route 11 entrance into Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.

Jasmine Folster staffs the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument welcome center in Patten. Folster, who is from Mattawamkeag, is interning through Conservation Legacy, who are partners with the National Park system. Folster recently completed her associates degree in outdoor recreation and tourism through Eastern Maine Community College.