PHOTO: BRIAN SKERRY/COURTESY BIGELOW LABORATORY

Working Waterfront

Kelp collapsing on Southern Maine coast

The researchers combined several dive surveys of sea urchin and kelp populations with data on ocean temperature to model how and why kelp forests are changing—and how that varies along different parts of the coast. They found that temperatures have become inhospitable... SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Climate plan: What you need to know

Ultimately, the "Maine Won’t Wait" plan is essential because it guides the state’s approach to critical issues like climate change, economic resilience, and community well-being. SEE MORE

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Being a messenger is risky business

I’ve been thinking about a play I saw on public TV many years ago, and believe it or not, my thoughts had nothing to do with the election. An Enemy of the People, written in 1882 by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, had been adapted by Arthur Miller, best known… SEE MORE

Lia Morris, center, on a mussel farm in Penobscot Bay. PHOTO: JACK SULLIVAN

Working Waterfront

At the mussel farm with Island Institute’s Lia Morris

I spent the day on the water with members of local and state government and staff from Sunrise County Economic Council touring Marshall Cove mussel farm off Islesboro. SEE MORE

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In the face of change, towns must plan

As a multi-generational Mainer, I believe what makes this state special is that there has been such little change. I’ve had the opportunity to work with several local historians who share photos of their town and it’s amazing how recognizable places still are. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Our ocean’s troubling plastic problem

As I stood on the Rockland breakwater, trying to pry a piece of Styrofoam from between two boulders, my Island Institute co-workers scoured the beach, picking up trash as part of the Maine Coastal Cleanup Program. With teamwork, we finally freed that stubborn piece of plastic and I felt a… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Why deadly storms aren’t so super

Category Five: Superstorms and the Warming Oceans That Feed Them By Porter Fox (Little, Brown 2024) I found Porter Fox’s Category Five: Superstorms and the Warming Oceans That Feed Them a riveting read. So much so, I think I lost focus, experiencing the book more as a series of edge-of-the-seat… SEE MORE

Sara Rademaker, left, and Anne Langston Noll, winners of the Phyllis Wyeth Visionary Award.

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Herring Gut center honors Rademaker, Langston Noll

In August, Herring Gut Coastal Science Center honored two women active on the coast with an award named in honor of Phyllis Wyeth, founder of the educational center based in Port Clyde. The Phyllis Wyeth Visionary Award was given to Anne Langston Noll and Sara Rademaker. Langston Noll, as associate… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Matinicus visit highlights coastal challenges

If you’ve had the opportunity to fly in a four-seater Cessna from Owls Head to the island of Matinicus on Penobscot Island Air, like I did last month, you’ll know why it’s a trip worth taking. On a clear day, Penobscot Bay stretches out in front of you with its… SEE MORE

An undated photograph by LaRue Spiker shows snow and ice-encrusted rocks strewn over the Seawall Road.

Working Waterfront

MDI’s Seawall illustrates dynamic ocean interface

A sea wall’s mobility is easier to visualize in areas where there is no road to impede it, such as West Pond on the west side of Schoodic Point, or between Ship Harbor and Wonderland on MDI, where waves during the January 2024 storms carried rocks... SEE MORE