A schooner sails past the tanks in South Portland on a late May Saturday.

Working Waterfront

Is a Portland cell tower killing fish?

Complied by Tom Groening Are the radio waves from a cell tower killing fish? As odd as that question sounds, it's being taken seriously by the Portland school system, the Portland Press-Herald reports. The cell tower in question is on the roof of Deering High School, and a biology teacher… SEE MORE

Vinalhaven school students and staff start to congregate outside around the trash collage and spend some time considering all the trash they collected.

Working Waterfront

Vinalhaven’s trash collage teaches lessons on litter

By Kris Osgood Small island schools often struggle to match what bigger mainland schools do: fielding sports teams, filling out bands, casting plays. But small island schools offer opportunities that might be out of the question for mainland schools. Last May, the Vinalhaven School participated in one such undertaking. "Why… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

New England in Lyme zone, but states have few answers

Lyme disease was first identified as a disease in Connecticut in the 1970s. Since then, it has spread slowly northward, as climate change and an expanding deer population have made states like Maine more hospitable to black-legged ticks (also called deer ticks) which carry the disease. A 2015 Yale School… SEE MORE

Environment

A cruise ship as seen from Cadillac Mountain.

Working Waterfront

Expect record-breaking number of cruise ships in Bar Harbor

The cruise ship business must have been hit by the Great Recession, as were other sectors of the tourism economy. So the news, reported by the Mount Desert Islander, that the schedule for cruise ship visits to Bar Harbor for this spring, summer and fall shows "the town on track… SEE MORE

Chris Warner explains the restoration design with John Hagan setting green crab traps in the background.

Working Waterfront

Beating the green crabs in Georgetown

By Susie Arnold, Ph. D. and Heather Deese, Ph. D. "We believe, yes!" This is Georgetown clammer Chris Warner's answer to the question: Can a single shellfish harvester with a small up-front investment create a viable soft-shell clam farm and beat the green crabs? But you don't need to take… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine beach monitoring program to lose EPA funding

With summer fast approaching, Mainers and visitors are already flocking to the state's beaches. But how clean is the water, and is it safe for swimming? According to a 2014 report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Maine ranked 27th on a list of 30 coastal states for water… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Pairing preservation and energy efficiency

I hadn't considered historic property management as a part of the work of running the Island Institute, but with a 165-year-old building on Main Street in Rockland being our headquarters, I've had to learn the basics. I've learned that for some, the act of restoring historic properties is akin to… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Arctic holds shipping opportunities for Maine

Receding ice in the Arctic is the dramatic, even shocking result of climate change, climatologists say. But despite what may be understood as environmental catastrophe, open waters in the previously ice-bound region present opportunity. Those opportunities include new shipping lanes, oil and gas exploration and even tourism. This year,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Testimony sought on impacts to fishing with Beals dredge project

BEALS — The Maine Department of Marine Resources will hold a public hearing May 14 on a proposal to dredge Beals Harbor and Pig Island Gut Channel. The public hearing, to take place 6 p.m. at the Beals Elementary School, will be conducted to receive testimony solely about the impact of… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Casco Bay health good, but bears watching, says Friends group

PORTLAND — Some good news, some worrisome signs sums up the findings of a long-term comprehensive study of water quality in Casco Bay conducted by the Friends of Casco Bay. The nonprofit group unveiled its report "A Changing Casco Bay" at the Ocean Gateway on April 28. "We get asked… SEE MORE