Working Waterfront
The story of the forgotten sea mink
A group scientists and community members supported by the National Science Foundation are working to understand the role the sea mink played in Maine... SEE MORE
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Category: Environment
Working Waterfront
Peter Ralston honored by Lighthouse Foundation
The American Lighthouse Foundation recently presented Peter Ralston with its Keeper of the Light award during the organization’s year-end gala at the Nonantum Resort in Kennebunkport. Ralston was recognized for his efforts in helping create and guide the Maine Lights Program on the 25th anniversary of its successful completion in… SEE MORE
Working Waterfront
Rockweed study not accurately explained
Rockweed is a slow-growing, wild seaweed on the rocky coast of Maine. It is highly valued as a commercial fertilizer and debates about how rockweed harvesting should be managed are contentious. To address questions about over-harvesting, academic researchers collaborated with commercial companies to test for effects of a single harvest… SEE MORE
Working Waterfront
Working on the railroad
Back in my weekly newspaper days, I worked with an old-timer who, in those years, was responsible for settling up with the stores that carried our paper. Now that I think about it, he was probably the age I am now, so strike the “old-timer” crack. Bob grew up in… SEE MORE
Working Waterfront
Indigenous, U.S., Canadian efforts restoring fish run
Ten years ago, the run of alewives in the Skutik (St. Croix) River hovered around 16,000. Though that’s more than the 900 fish from a decade earlier, it was not a great total for a river that once held millions of fish. It was, however, the beginning of what many… SEE MORE
Working Waterfront
The year of the working waterfront
When Island Institute began publishing this newspaper, The Working Waterfront, 30 years ago, we picked our name with intention. We wanted to cover local, critical, and the sometimes hidden yet prescient stories that spoke to the economy, politics, and culture on Maine’s islands and coasts. No other mental image quite… SEE MORE
Working Waterfront
Maine coast could host ‘space economy’
[caption id="attachment_39553" align="alignleft" width="300"] Michael Kincaid of NASA, left, and MSGC director Terry Shehata. PHOTO: COURTESY MAINE SPACE 2030[/caption] Maine’s rocky coastline isn’t only beautiful, it’s the driving force behind some of the state’s most historic, lucrative industries, like shipbuilding, fishing, and tourism. Maine’s south-facing coastline could also become the… SEE MORE
Working Waterfront
Incandescent yellows and shades of brown
At our October book group meeting, before our discussion of Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, one of the members who attended from Pennsylvania via Zoom asked us, “What is the island like right now?” Several people mentioned the rain we’ve had every weekend, and we all compared temperatures from our… SEE MORE
Working Waterfront
Seeing the forest and the trees
Chuck Gadzik of Vinalhaven led a community walk devoted to resilient and diverse forests on the islands earlier this year. SEE MORE
Working Waterfront
Island Institute awarded USDA funding
Island Institute, a Rockland-based community development organization focused on island and coastal communities, has been awarded two key grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The nonprofit landed a Rural Community Development Initiative grant of $201,000 to support the Island Institute Fellows program. Island Institute Fellows in Brooklin, Tremont, and… SEE MORE
