Black crowberry on the Schoodic Peninsula.

Working Waterfront

Finding refuge from climate change on the Maine coast

By Catherine Schmitt On the rocky headlands of the Schoodic Peninsula, the narrow ledges between the edge of the spruce forest and tide-scraped granite are carpeted in black crowberry, an evergreen shrub with tiny purplish flowers and dark fruits. Crowberry grows in less than 1 percent of the state, but… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Cumberland, York county towns tangle with FEMA

By Jacqueline Weaver Rising sea levels and their impact on flood insurance rates are becoming a contentious and anxiety-provoking issue for Maine coastal towns. Flood maps drafted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reflecting the predicted higher seas have been disputed by coastal communities in York and Cumberland counties… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Coyotes are keystone carnivores, and play critical role

By Geri Vistein As a wildlife biologist here in Maine whose focus is educating our people about our returning or recovering carnivores and the skills to live well with them, I felt the need to respond to the article in the November issue of The Working Waterfront, “Coyotes on Chebeague worry islanders.”… SEE MORE

A view of the village area on Michigan's Mackinac Island.

Working Waterfront

Great Lakes islanders find common concerns

By Tom Groening Representatives from island communities across the Great Lakes gathered on Mackinac Island in Michigan in late October for an annual summit at which common challenges were explored. The Great Lakes Islands Alliance formed three years ago, with assistance from the Island Institute, publisher of The… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

UMaine studies suggest ‘cresting wave’ in lobster population

Two new studies published by University of Maine scientists are putting a long-standing survey of the American lobster’s earliest life stages to its most rigorous test yet as an early warning system for trends in New England’s iconic fishery. The studies point to the role of a warming ocean and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

When small island nations speak, we should listen

By Kate Tagai Fourteen island states gathered in the Maldives in November 1989 for the Small States Conference on Sea Level Rise. Jack Hopa, minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries for the island nation of Vanuatu (in the Coral Sea, east of Australia) asserted: “On the issue of sea level… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Coyotes on Chebeague worry islanders

By Donna Miller Damon It wasn’t interest in the workings of local government that drew nearly a hundred Chebeague islanders to a select board meeting. It was interest in the newest island inhabitant, the non-native Eastern coyote The meeting featured a presentation by Scott Lindsay, regional wildlife biologist for the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Can our communities be marine-friendly?

By Craig Olson You’ve heard it many times, but it bears repeating: “Change is the only constant.” For Maine’s coastal economy, that statement couldn’t be more appropriate. For those who work on the water or rely on marine-based businesses, shifts in ocean use, diminishing fisheries, and access to steady supplies… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine’s place in the urgent work on climate and social justice

By Rob Snyder When I look back on the past few months, I see them as some of the most formative of my career. My work brought me close to diverse efforts addressing a range of problems, but a theme linking them emerged. Climate Week in New York City was… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Home-grown electrons are the best electrons

By Tom Groening When I was eight years old, I invented a perpetual motion machine. As I recall, I was in the back of my family’s station wagon on a trip, doodling in a little notebook, and my plans included rubber bands, springs, and a reconfigured wire coat hanger. When… SEE MORE