The top of Cadillac Mountain on a busy summer day.

Working Waterfront

A coastal conundrum—taxes or tourism?

By Sarah Craighead Dedmon Acadia National Park broke records this summer when more than 35,000 people visited on a single day. The increased traffic led to near-constant road and parking lot closures and, according to the National Park Service, an unprecedented number of emergencies. In just ten years, Acadia’s visitation… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Who says there’s nothing to do?

By Courtney Naliboff I’m writing this from a point in time two weeks before the end of the school year, one day before the spring concert, and just over a week before my daughter’s preschool graduation. I’m doubled up on meetings more days than not, staring down the barrel of… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Islanders and the shame of baggage

By Barbara Fernald It starts at the grocery store on the mainland. I hand my cooler and canvas bags to the cashier, who passes them to the bagger, and I start to unload a full grocery cart. I have an itching need to get the cart unloaded quickly so I… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Casco Bay Lines responds to booming bay, city

By Tom Groening Portland’s waterfront is booming—new hotels, restaurants, pubs, a marina—so it’s no wonder the ferry serving Casco Bay’s islands is responding to that activity, says Hank Berg. Casco Bay Lines (CBL), for which Berg is general manager, has a lengthy history on the city’s waterfront, though recently, it’s… SEE MORE

The W. H. Witherle & Co. dock and salt storage building in Castine. Research suggests the casks are filled with salt. PHOTO: COURTESY NEW ENGLAND HISTORIC GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY

Working Waterfront

Castine’s ‘Risky Business’ explores another side of town’s history

By Tom Groening Castine is as rich in history as any town on Maine’s coast. The island-like body of land jutting into east Penobscot Bay was occupied and fought over by the French, Dutch, English, and Americans, and even played a key, but disastrous role in the fledgling nation’s war… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Bucksport’s not-so-overnight transformation

By Susan Lessard The path Bucksport took from “mill town” to something else—including becoming the planned home of a land-based salmon farm and an annex of Maine Maritime Academy—began more than 20 years ago. Local government leaders began setting aside funds for the possible “rainy day” that would come if… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A young person’s take on keeping communities alive

Reflections is written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands and in coastal communities through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. By Molly Siegel Shop parties. The term evokes late-night parties in a lobsterman’s trap shop, playing instruments, dancing, and cavorting until… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Kittery Outlet Mall could offer affordable housing option

By Wanda Curtis As real estate prices spike in Kittery, efforts to carve out a niche for affordable housing have intensified, and one possible step toward alleviating the crunch is rethinking a popular shopping plaza. The median single-home listing price, according to Realtor.com, is $345,000. Kittery’s town manager, Kendra Amaral,… SEE MORE

Beyond Acadia on display in a local bookstore. PHOTO: SARAH CRAIGHEAD DEDMON

Working Waterfront

‘Beyond Acadia’ illuminates lesser-known beauty of Bold Coast

By Sarah Craighead Dedmon A young family passing through Machias stopped at a land trust office looking for local activities to fill their day. “They had a site at Cobscook Bay State Park for just one night, and they wanted to know what to do in the area,” said Rich… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

When the chips are down, Lincoln County turns to CHIP

By Sally Noble From the more affluent coast to the very heart of Lincoln County, wealthy and far less wealthy towns have joined as an unusual community, woven together to give sweet meaning to the word “neighbor.” Here the volunteers of the Community Housing Improvement Project, or CHIP, an ecumenical… SEE MORE