Otter Cliffs in winter. PHOTO: COURTESY FRIENDS OF ACADIA

Working Waterfront

Mapping MDI’s climate future

Reflections is written by Island Institute 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. In the library, Tremont residents gather around flood maps. Disoriented at first, we find key landmarks—the school, Hansen’s Outpost,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Legislature, governor pass offshore wind bill

In what proponents describe as a way to jumpstart a new offshore wind industry for Maine, the legislature passed and Gov. Janet Mills signed into law LD 1895, “An Act Regarding the Procurement of Energy from Offshore Wind” on July 27. The coalition of groups that support the bill say… SEE MORE

Gabe Pendleton of Pendleton Yacht Yard takes an Island Institute's Alex Kravitz for a spin around Rockland Harbor in a boat powered by a 40-horsepower electric outboard. PHOTO: JACK SULLIVAN

Working Waterfront

Electric outboards show their stuff

In an effort to “electrify the working waterfront” in Maine, staff from Island Institute (publisher of The Working Waterfront) along with Gabe Pendleton, owner of Pendleton Yacht Yard on Islesboro, put new electric outboards through their paces on Rockland Harbor on July 27. Pendleton Yacht Yard’s new fully electric boat,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A history worth celebrating

When I joined Island Institute as president a little over three months ago, we were preparing for our 40th birthday as an organization serving Maine’s islands and coastal communities. We were founded in 1983—the year the English rock band, The Police, topped Billboard’s year-end “hot singles” with “Every Breath You… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Hybrid ferry is a ‘half attempt’

I was greatly disappointed to read that the new ferry being built for Islesboro has gone from an all-electric boat to a hybrid. With global warming affecting the Gulf of Maine faster than most other bodies of water in the world, I believe we need to make our best effort… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Anatomy of a failure: Who killed Quoddy?

Moondoggle: Franklin Roosevelt and the Fight for Tidal-electric Power at Passamaquoddy Bay By Mark C. Borton, Downeast Books (2023) A rival to the Hoover Dam in Eastport? That could have been the Quoddy project to generate electricity from one of the highest tides in the world. For Mainers, the ghost… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Feds learn about community, in-person

Kathleen Billings, Stonington’s longtime town manager, articulated some deep truths to representatives of the Northern Border Regional Commission (NRBC) during a recent visit. “This is our home,” she said. “Once you are on an island, there’s a different culture to it. You have to be self-sufficient. You have to figure… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Air quality—a tale of two Maines

Maine’s air quality is experiencing mixed results since last year’s report, according to the American Lung Association’s 2023 “State of the Air” report. Bangor remains one of only seven cities in the nation that ranks on the cleanest cities lists for all three measures of pollution and is celebrating its… SEE MORE

Front Street Shipyard's multihull boat is still in the design process.

Working Waterfront

Will lobstermen ever embrace multihulls?

Along the Maine coast, spring arrives with an explosion of daffodils, the sound of peepers, and a pilgrimage of spotted salamanders crossing darkened roads. Life also returns to boatyards that provide winter homes to Maine’s lobster fleet, as fishermen ready their boats for another season on the water. To the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Ocean acidification threatens blue economy

In a state renowned for its lobster and shellfish, Mainers understand the importance of a healthy ocean. But you don’t have to spend your mornings on a fishing boat hauling in the day’s catch or even live near the coast to be affected by our changing and warming seas. Ocean… SEE MORE