“Clarence Hilyard” by David Estey, 1988 oil on canvas, 10” x 8.”

Working Waterfront

James Fitzgerald at Katahdin

One of Clarence’s predecessors, William Wingate Sewall, took on a sickly young Teddy Roosevelt at the camps and built him up to be a vigorous young man... SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Delly—whose full name was Dallas Levi Anthony—was a pianist, a wonderful baritone, a terrific cook and baker, precipitously mischievous, and a help to all. A friend recalls that Delly let him and his brother, nine- and ten-year-olds, tag along up into the bell tower of the Union Church to take… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Those who served at back of the boat

I’m reposting an abridged version of a column from May 2012. I smile thinking of all the different people Bruce and I recalled and what fun we had doing it. On Little Cranberry Island sternmen stories abound! Most of the lobster fishermen in our area take an extra person or… SEE MORE

Boats off Stonington. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Stark reminder of need to support children

Some of the kids in our program don’t have a stable home life or the certainty of knowing where their next meal is coming from. SEE MORE

UMaine graduate students Grayson Hutson and Julia Sunnarborg collecting an eDNA sample through the ice at Walker Pond. Grayson and Julia and colleagues at the University of Maine and University of Southern Maine are using eDNA to study migration patterns of alewives as they move between saltwater and freshwater to understant their affects on lake and estuary ecosystems, especially in cases where dams are being removed to increase fish passage. They are even mining the lake sediments for ancient eDNA to understand what fish populations might have looked like in the past.

Working Waterfront

Sifting DNA from ocean holds promise

Researchers are finding many more species of fish associated with kelp forests using eDNA than are observed visually. This raises questions about whether these species are transient or using kelp as an important habitat. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Hope: A framework for climate action

Hope is a framework for action. There is a great distinction between hoping (which is all about action) and wishing (which is passive, having a desire but believing there is nothing we can do). SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

These are the rules

I didn’t make the rules, but the rules require that as soon as you think to yourself “It’s hot out here,” you have to get to a beach as quickly as you can, shed your winter plumage, and run into the sea. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Bad habits revived again and again

The change of seasons—spring being what’s on my mind—can call out old habits. Mine have to do with boats and the preparations they require at this time of year. The habits of others will be different, of course, depending on circumstances, priorities, and whose habits we’re talking about. While my… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The importance of measuring greenhouse gases

Greenhouse gas assessments provide measurable evidence to show consumers environmentally friendly practices. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Noblesse oblige, Maine style

About 15 years ago, I had a most pleasant conversation with Linda Bean. I was covering the Maine Fishermen’s Forum for the Bangor Daily News and found myself sitting next to her at a session which had participants gathered in a circle. A fellow journalist had recently told me something… SEE MORE

Category: Columns

James Fitzgerald at Katahdin

Remembering an island icon

Those who served at back of the boat

Stark reminder of need to support children

Sifting DNA from ocean holds promise

Hope: A framework for climate action

These are the rules

Bad habits revived again and again

The importance of measuring greenhouse gases

Noblesse oblige, Maine style