Nonprofit organizations like the Island Institute are not exempt from the pressures of the bottom line. In fact, we are just as mindful of budgets as for-profit businesses because we are funded by finite sources—grants and donations—and can't count on an uptick in sales to provide a cushion. But despite fiscal constraints—or maybe in part because of them—the Island Institute…

It’s high summer on the coast of Maine, and the state’s newspapers are reflecting the splendor of the season. But it’s not all pretty pictures and fun; the news marches…

As if on cue, a tagged Atlantic salmon was detected swimming above the Howland dam. Soon, people from throughout the state and beyond would gather where the Piscataquis and Penobscot…

Reflections is a monthly column written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands and in remote coastal communities through the Island Institute, publisher…

If Maine followed Islesboro’s example, we would soon be the most connected state in the nation.  On June 18, Islesboro voted to join a very limited number of towns across…

Rita MacWilliam came to the tiny one-room, K-8 schoolhouse on Isle au Haut from a life of immersion in new cultural experiences that included working in other tiny schools in…

There are no cities in Maine. With a population of about 66,000, Portland doesn’t qualify, at least by national standards. If Portland were in Massachusetts, it would be the 15th…

Margaret Wise Brown, author of such children's classics as Goodnight Moon, The Runaway Bunny and The Little Island, had a deep love for Vinalhaven. In fact, the home she bought…

Like many cities in New England and across the country, Portland is facing a housing crisis. There’s not enough housing to meet the demand and the cost of housing often…

In the 20 years she’s been operating her kayak business, Karen Francoeur estimates she has introduced well over 1,000 people to the joys of paddling on Maine waters. “I started…