A storm in March pushes water from Penobscot Bay over Route 1 in Lincolnville Beach. PHOTO: JUDY BERK

Working Waterfront

James Croll and sea level rise

“That’s the way it looks from here” was the jaunty sign-off of Lou McNally, Maine Public Radio’s long-time weather forecaster, and we knew a storm was coming. But king tides and climate change played another game. On Jan. 13 the Maine coast was inundated. Water flowed into hundreds of towns,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Despite legal restrictions, rockweed business thrives

Seaweed has been used as a soil amendment for as long as crops have been grown, with documented use dating to the Roman Empire. In Maine, it was used by indigenous people, and then during the colonial period, hauled in wagons from the shore. It remains in use today, and… SEE MORE

Leaving Frenchboro Harbor. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Listening led to harbor dredging funds

Last month, Sen. Susan Collins secured $500,000 in federal funding to dredge Frenchboro’s Lunt Harbor. The small island eight miles off Mount Desert Island relies on marine transportation and fishing for survival, so a safely navigable harbor is critical for the island’s everyday function. The harbor, the main point for… SEE MORE

Lubec's Main Street. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Climate change impacting property insurance

Coastal property owners may be in for a surprise when their home insurance is up for renewal. Damages to homes from this winter’s high winds, storm surges, and driving rain has meant higher premiums and canceled policies in some zip codes. Roger Quirk of Lubec learned that one company no… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Women of the waterfront

Facilities manager. Juggler. Mediator. First responder. Diplomat. Code enforcer. These are some of the roles harbormasters fill, as revealed during a panel discussion hosted by Midcoast Women on March 13 at Rockport Public Library. Kathy Given has been Belfast’s harbormaster for 30 years. She’s not sure whether she was Maine’s… SEE MORE

“The J. O. Brown Boatyard, North Haven” (2012) by Seaver Leslie; transparent watercolor, 11-inches by 14 inches.

Working Waterfront

Seaver Leslie pays tribute to Brown Boatyard

Leslie painted at the boatyard in the spring and summer of 2009 and 2010, focusing on the interior, with a series of detailed drawings preceding the watercolors. SEE MORE

The Pemaquid Light fog signal bell shown on a postcard dating to about 1905. PHOTO: MAINE MARITIME MUSEUM

Working Waterfront

Centuries-old infrastructure laid bare

Coastal Maine continues to reel from the effects of back-to-back January storms that caused long-lasting damage to working waterfronts, homes, areas of leisure, as well as cultural heritage sites. By nature of their location, lighthouses and their supporting structures are especially vulnerable to the destruction caused by extreme winds, surf,… SEE MORE

King tide, as documented in coastal New Hampshire.

Working Waterfront

Look to nature to manage rising seas

As we all are painfully aware after January’s damaging coastal storms, our shores are vulnerable to flooding and, unfortunately, climate scientists are warning that these events are becoming more common as sea levels rise. As daunting as this might feel, we can act now to reduce our vulnerability. The solutions… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Herring Gut Science Center names new director

Sarah D. Oktay, PhD has joined the Herring Gut Coastal Science Center as executive director. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Fishing for trash

A recent radio program on Maine’s lobster industry reminded me of island cleanups, the efforts to clean the stacks and tangles of lobster fishing debris. In the radio program, answering a question about fishing trash, Patricia McCarron of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association noted that most cleanup effort was “under the… SEE MORE