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

A view to the Camden Hills from the Islesboro ferry.

Working Waterfront

Lots of lobster news, and a win for public access

Tugboats are the work horses of the maritime world, and seem, by design, to be steady, sure-footed, and safe. But the April Commercial Fisheries News reports on an odd, and probably unusual, tugboat mishap. Two tugs, the 40-foot Helen Louise and the 80-foot Capt. Mackintire, collided on Feb. 22 off… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Clean energy from a meeting of Iceland and Maine

By Cameron G. Brien What is the single largest commodity the nation of Iceland produces in a single year? Is it fish? Banking? The attractive, blonde descendants of Viking shield-maidens? It is, in fact, something much more abstract than any of those things. What Iceland produces more of than anything… SEE MORE