NOAA ’bout it! Federal funding that supports Maine’s coast is at risk. Speak up to show policymakers these critical investments matter. Learn more and share your voice now!
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.
What is one small thing Mainers can do in their everyday lives to help combat climate change? We asked our panelists that question. They overwhelmed us with good ideas, small and large. Try some. Or all. An edited list follows.
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.
Mussels are one of Maine’s most coveted seafoods. But the bivalve molluscs that used to be readily available and ripe for the picking aren’t quite so easy to come by these days.
Marine biologist Jon Lewis said mussel settlement on mudflats and rocks has become a problem. “The decline in wild mussels may be related to warming waters, predators such as green crabs, ice scouring or ocean acidification.”
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.
A Casco Bay company that bills itself as the country’s first open-water commercial kelp farm got state approval Friday to convert a temporary seaweed plot off Chebeague Island into a 10-year lease, giving it the financial and regulatory certainty it needs to support the expansion of its Saco processing operation.
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.
Dick Broom provides a profile of Jan Keiper, the lone teacher in the town of Frenchboro on the remote offshore island of Long Island. According to the 2010 census, the town had a population of 61. The estimated 2015 population was 79, but residents say the year-round population is no more than 40.
In this article, Keiper talks about the advantages and challenges of teaching in a tiny school on a remote island, including support received through the Island Institute’s Outer Islands Teaching & Learning Collaborative.
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.
ROCKLAND — Lobster and blueberries might get most of the media attention when it comes to Maine’s most iconic foods, but salmon and seaweed are the hottest products these day. On Oct. 16, Good Tern Co-op in Rockland put the focus on Maine’s most promising up-and-coming exports with their Salmon Cookout & Seafood Celebration. The event took place from noon to 4 p.m with the Co-op offering grilled salmon and seaweed salads, and free iced tea and spring water.
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.
Annie Tselikis is the executive director of the Maine Lobster Dealers’ Association, and the marketing director for Maine Coast, a York-based wholesaler of lobster and seafood. In this interview with the Portland Press Herald, Tselikis talks about her career so far, including her deckhand days, a 2006 fellowship in Stonington through the Island Institute, work with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, and the lobster industry and sustainability.
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.
Mainebiz reporter James McCarthy visits Isle au Haut and learns about the complexities and challenges of living off the coast of Maine, as well as how the entrepreneurial spirit you find in a small island community, with a year-round population of just under 40 residents, has less to do with making things and everything to do with building a sustainable community.
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.
The Island Institute, in Rockland, has been selected to receive a USDA Rural Development Rural Community Development Initiative Grant in the amount of $143,350 to build capacity and provide technical assistance to the rural Maine island communities of Vinalhaven, Frenchboro, and Eastport.
The grant will provide Vinalhaven, Frenchboro, and Eastport with support through Fellows who will work alongside the communities to develop opportunities in education, grow the creative economy, and improve critical emergency management services for island residents.
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.
On Swan’s Island and other islands, high energy costs have been a fact of life. Many places are considering how to change that, but the situation on each island is unique.
“About the only thing the islands in Maine have in common is that they’re islands,” Schwabe said.
Some, such as Swan’s Island, have connections to the mainland. Others generate all of their own electricity through a local utility and have no connection, such as Harbor Island, which guards Burnt Coat Harbor and sits in view of the Swan’s Island cooperative.
Posted by Neil Arnold & filed under In the news.
“There are efforts underway to increase rural internet access. Briana Warner is the economic director for the Island Institute, which is working to help island communities with similar problems.
Warner points to the island of Islesboro, which is planning a $3 million project to get gigabit-speed connection. She says every town doesn’t need to go that far, but she thinks it’s important for both educating students and making them want to come back after college.”
