Category: Environment

Jesse Leach heads upriver to his oyster farm.

Oysters, Surprising Protector of the Bagaduce River

3/29/2012 - Native Americans called this place matchebiguatus, which means place where there is no safe harbor. They were referring to the currents and tidal flats and rocks and reversing falls of the Bagaduce River and Northern Bay. Depending on the tide, the river surges one way or the other beneath Route… SEE MORE

Buck's Harbor is a beautiful and wild place, where rocky islands guard the rough waters of Machias Bay.

Savoring the Quiet Around Machias

3/29/2012 - Maine's Washington County is the place where the term Downeast becomes less of a myth and more of a reality. Towns like Cutler, Jonesport, and Lubec sit perched on the bold cliffs over the rough waters of the Atlantic. The lobster boats outnumber pleasure craft, and the working man outnumbers… SEE MORE

Looking east at Elliott Bay Marina and the Seattle skyline. ©Bruce C Moore

Scenes from the Seattle Waterfront and Elliott Bay

3/29/2012 - Seattle is one of the busiest ports in the Pacific Northwest, but it can also be one of the most stunning. Here are some recent images from my trips around the waterfront in and around Elliott Bay. SEE MORE

Right Whales Reappear in Massachusetts Bay

Environment

3/28/2012 - What a sight! NOAA researchers off Race Point, MA, among 30+ right whales, photographing for identification. SEE MORE

Florida Statewide Boating Conference Returns May 15-17

3/27/2012 - After a six-year hiatus, Florida's statewide boating and waterway management conference “From Stem to Stern” returns May 15-17 in Clearwater Beach. Whether new or experienced, attendees will learn the absolute most up-to-date information on proven techniques and sound strategies they can use to navigate the challenges facing boating and waterways… SEE MORE

Indiantown Island, a Great Discovery Near Boothbay

3/26/2012 - Indiantown Island is managed by the Boothbay Region Land Trust and is a great day stop for hiking or a picnic. The island has a small dinghy dock accessible at all tides, for dinghies, and a couple of miles of trails. The trails are well kept and the white blazes… SEE MORE

A fiery spring evening lights up Port Clyde Harbor and Hupper Island.

Spring Arrives on the St. George Peninsula

3/24/2012 - From Port Clyde to Tenants Harbor and up to Spruce Head, the winds of change are beginning to blow. Spring is officially here, and the prettiest peninsula in Maine is ready for it! Lobster boats are now heading out to deep waters again, their sterns loaded down with traps that… SEE MORE

The wild coastal landscape that blankets so much of Washington county is evident in Steuben's winding and rocky shores.

Thawing Out from a Maine Winter in Steuben

3/22/2012 - Spring is officially here, thank god. Even though this winter was rather mild, it still feels incredible when that first prolonged blast of warm air settles over Maine's small coastal towns and villages. If you are lucky enough to live on the coast, you know what this feeling is like.… SEE MORE

A close-up view of the elvers. Photo by Hannah Webber.

Maine’s “Glass Eel” Fishery Opens

3/22/2012 - Beginning today, March 22, the shores of Maine's tidal streams will become ragged with fyke nets, mesh mouths open wide to the sea, hoping to funnel migrating elvers into their holds. An elver is a baby American eel, Latin name Anguilla rostrata. They hatch somewhere in the Sargasso Sea near… SEE MORE

The USHarbors crew takes advantage of an unseasonably warm afternoon to launch "Bob", our appropriately named peapod.

Launching the 2012 Boating Season in Style

3/21/2012 - Boating season in some areas of the country has been underway for weeks or even months (indeed, for some fortunate souls it never ends), but in harbors north of the Mason-Dixon Line we usually have to wait until April at least before we wet the oars. But with the thermometer… SEE MORE