Working Waterfront

War on invasive plants relies on many weapons

Carolyn Walker first heard about invasive plants while taking horticulture classes 25 years ago. One summer when she arrived at her family home on Casco Bay’s Cliff Island, she noticed a lovely purple plant. It caught her eye not for its attractiveness, but because it had overrun the island’s marshes.… SEE MORE

A photovoltaic panel in a yard on Islesboro.

Working Waterfront

Veto puts solar energy growth in jeopardy, say proponents

By Jacqueline Weaver A bill in the Maine Legislature that would have ensured benefits for solar panel owners was killed on Aug. 2. The bill passed with strong majorities in both the House of Representatives and Senate, but then was vetoed by Gov. Paul LePage. In the initial vote, legislators… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Colby College comes to the coast

Both institutions see their missions as providing high-quality education to a relatively small group of students. Beyond that, Waterville’s Colby College and Port Clyde’s Herring Gut Learning Center would seem to have little in common. Beginning late last year, though, Colby and Herring Gut began a partnership aimed at enhancing… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine coastal towns expecting, preparing for rising seas

By Susie Arnold, Ph. D. and Heather Deese, Ph. D. Sea level along the Maine coast has been rising at a fairly regular rate for the last 5,000 years or so. In the 20th century, sea level rose at about 1 inch per decade. Looking forward, we are expecting much… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

That beautiful sky might not be the easiest to fly through

By Eva Murray A couple of weeks ago, as an early-evening thunderstorm approached from the west, the sky over Penobscot Bay got everybody’s attention. A palette of sunset colors contrasted with discrete layers of bright white and nearly-black clouds, and the fast-moving front, with its peculiar sharp edge, barreled overhead… SEE MORE

Galen Koch at work on the Airstream trailer that will serve as her mobile recording studio.

Working Waterfront

‘First Coast’ project aims to tell our stories

Bureaucrats, academics, and advocates develop talking points, position papers, and policies to address the problems of our coast. Galen Koch has chosen a different approach. The 28-year-old Stonington native and Skidmore College grad has dedicated her professional life to storytelling. Or, more accurately, letting others tell their stories. Her newest… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Calm reflection on Hurricane Island

Between the end of the school year and the needle drop on summer, I found myself on a very fast boat headed to Hurricane Island. The boat was piloted by a guy I’ve known, through various cosmic-level coincidences, since he was 8-years old, and who’s now the facilities manager for… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Why not restore stripers to Gulf of Maine?

Michael J. LittleI read with interest the Fathoming column in the June issue of The Working Waterfront (“Signs of spring in our rivers and bays”) about the resurgence of fish migrations in the rivers and bays of the coast of Maine. I think it is very exciting that these populations… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Estuary Beat: Casco Bay and oil, hydro-acoustic in PenBay

Casco Bay prepares for oil spill potential Millions of barrels of oil flow through the pipeline that runs from South Portland to refineries in Montreal. While this is less oil than in the past (because of the supply coming from the Alberta tar sands), it is still enough to pose… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Global warming, climate change are two issues

Rob Snyder’s “Field Notes,” entry No. 41 in the July issue of The Working Waterfront, “Climate decisions reflect on who we are as a nation,” concerned me. Rob is a respected friend of mine. Being a scientist/engineer, there is little doubt in my mind that CO2 emissions have warmed the… SEE MORE