A view from Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park.

Working Waterfront

Tourism to Acadia spurred $284 million in economic benefits

A National Park Service report shows that Acadia National Park’s 3.5 million visits in 2017 resulted in $284 million in spending in the local region. That spending supported about 4,163 jobs and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $338 million. Chart shows Acadia-related spending, year by year.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Estuary Beat: Thinking about upgrading river, stream standards

Frenchman Bay Partners talk rockweed, red tide, clam flat cleanup Frenchman Bay Partners held its annual meeting on May 5 in Winter Harbor and covered several topics related to the intertidal zone. Since 2016, Hannah Webber of the Schoodic Institute has led a working group to evaluate the status and… SEE MORE

Volunteers work at burning fields on Swan's Island.

Working Waterfront

Swan’s Island fights ticks with fire

By Jennifer Helman There is no shortage of information about the trouble ticks bring into our lives. They lay thousands of eggs at a time, live parasitically off animals, spread Lyme and other diseases, and are yucky little critters. Various methods have been employed to reduce the number of ticks… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Attacking plastic ‘Upstream’ of consumer

From small offices in Damariscotta, a nonprofit called Upstream is running a nationwide movement to eliminate single-use plastic at the producer level. “We can’t recycle or compost our way to a sustainable future,” said Executive Director Matt Prindiville. “If we’re only working at the consumer end, we’re only cleaning up… SEE MORE

John Cabe and Anne Watson at the bicycle rental store in Bar Harbor.

Working Waterfront

Environment-friendly electric bike finds niche in Bar Harbor

Anne Watson tried out a Pedego electric bicycle one summer and loved it. Watson, a former school superintendent in Connecticut, has visited Great Cranberry Island every summer since she was a baby, and for the past two years has lived there year-round. But with summer rolling around, she can be… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Legendary sea explorer Earle calls for respect for underwater life

Marine botanist Sylvia Earle opened her April 30 lecture at the University of Maine with a simple, but stunning fact—the surface of Mars, she said, is better mapped than the floor of the world’s oceans. Earle herself is stunning. She has spent 7,000 hours underwater, has lived under the sea… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Port Clyde town landing plan subject of May 14 vote

On May 14, St. George residents will be asked to vote on a $2.6 million rehabilitation and development project at the former St. George Marine property at 10 Cold Storage Road in Port Clyde. The first phase of the project was completed in 2015 when the town purchased the property… SEE MORE

A view of the Bagaduce River over Castine rooftops.

Working Waterfront

Updates from the Maine Sustainability & Water Conference

Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Navy, University of New England, and Maine Department of Marine Resources have documented that both Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon use the Piscataqua River, making short forays into the estuary between April and November. Some of the sturgeon go on to spend the summer… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Letters to the editor

Emergency ferry runs more complicated I am writing in response to the article, “Ferry Service impacted with rising emergency trips,” in the April edition of The Working Waterfront. As a resident of Swan’s Island, diagnosed with late stage ovarian cancer in 2016 and living with an ongoing issue of small bowel… SEE MORE

A summer scene on Great Cranberry Island.

Working Waterfront

April’s hope supplants March’s misery

Year-round residents of the Cranberry Isles have just made it through a rough end of winter to face the fickle brown month of April. In February, the ice-rain-ice weather had yards looking like skating rinks. March had its own kind of nastiness with endless wet snow and high winds causing… SEE MORE