The USNS Washington Chambers photographed from a helicopter.

Working Waterfront

Flying over the Great Barrier Reef

The morning dawned warm and clear. The waters around the USNS Washington Chambers were treacherous, even in this good weather. The shoals around Australia and the many reefs make the sea a dangerous place to travel. Between Australia and Papua New Guinea, there is a stretch of ocean only a mile… SEE MORE

Chebeague Island's Stone Pier is at risk of damage from sea level rise.

Working Waterfront

Grants address sea level rise, water pollution along coast

The Maine Coastal Program, part of the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, announced on Aug. 4 that it has awarded nearly $250,000 to 11 municipal and county projects. The funds will provide support for the coastal economy through projects that increase public access to the coast, support shellfish harvesting, identify pollution sources that result in… SEE MORE

The waterfront on Islesford (Little Cranberry Island).

Working Waterfront

Nine coastal communities win planning grants

The state's Maine Coastal Program has awarded nine communities a total of $163,206 in grants covering planning, design and engineering work for a host of improvement projects, some conceptual, some ready to be built. The work the funds support ranges from a longer pier on Islesford to a better managed… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Kathleen Reardon promoted to lead DMR lobster biologist

Kathleen Reardon, who has coordinated the Maine Department of Marine Resources’ lobster monitoring programs for the past ten years, has been promoted to the position of lead lobster biologist. Reardon succeeds Carl Wilson who previously held the job until he was promoted to director of the DMR science bureau in February.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Can oysters save New York Harbor?

By Susie Arnold, Ph. D. and Heather Deese, Ph. D. New York, New York is a lot of things to a lot of people. But it isn't a great place to harvest oysters. Eat them, yes. Harvest them, no. Turns out this is a recent phenomenon. In the 1890s, New… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Oil, water and poorly considered science mix in Destiny

Reviewed by Tina Cohen The cover of Carl Howe Hansen's first novel presents some powerful allusions. The photograph by Peter Ralston features what we can assume is the book’s Pine Island, a typical Maine island of granite and spruce with raw exposure to the elements, a resistance to being tamed.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A great ocean, considered in great depth

Atlantic — Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms, and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories By Simon Winchester New York: HarperCollins, 2010 Hardcover, 495 pages This book came out five years ago and was well received, so why review it now, when parts of it feel a… SEE MORE

Brown's Head Light on Vinalhaven overlooks the Fox Islands Thoroughfare.

Working Waterfront

Vinalhaven transfers lighthouse to foundation

VINALHAVEN — Citing the burden of maintenance costs, the town has decided to transfer its ownership of Browns Head Lighthouse to a nonprofit organization whose mission is to preserve the historic beacons. An attorney for the island town is in the process of drafting a quit-claim deed through which ownership… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Electric grid, social grid and ‘energy nerds’

By Rob Snyder I am increasingly surrounded by "energy nerds" (their words) and if you live in an island or remote coastal community in Maine, you may be too. They love talking about kilowatt hours, light bulbs, appliances and the like. And as with most characters, they are easier… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

New phone app enhances Acadia, national park experiences

How many of us have toiled up a mountain to enjoy the view at the peak in Acadia National Park, only to play the guessing game of what the view is? Even with a paper map, it can be hard to determine which islands or mountains are part of the… SEE MORE