Category: Environment

Early morning clouds seem to dance over the islands of Penobscot Bay. From left, Job, Lime, Lasalle, Saddle, and Mark Islands.

An Essay in Color and Light: Penobscot Bay Skies

2/20/2012 - The sky over Penobscot Bay, the jewel of Maine's famous rockbound coast, provides boaters with an astounding array of colors and a light that is continually changing with each passing season. An early morning sunrise in Camden can bring a pleasing pallet of blues, pinks, and reds. Sunsets over the… SEE MORE

A freshly shucked sea scallop with roe. Photo by D. Morse/Maine Sea Grant.

Understanding the Science, Industry Behind Scallop Fishing

2/15/2012 - The nearshore sea scallop fishery in Maine state waters has fluctuated over the years and declined recently. Scallops still thrive in Cobscook Bay, where harvesters collected them by hand (SCUBA diving, hence the descriptor "diver-caught" or just "diver scallop”) and by dredge. Dredge and trawl are the primary methods of… SEE MORE

A beautiful new launch by Pease Boatworks and Railway.

The Sights and Smells of the Boatbuilders Show on Cape Cod

2/10/2012 - It's a fact: You can tell how good something is by how it smells. And the Boatbuilders Show at Cape Cod smelled like boatbuilding at its best when it opened its doors on February 10, with the essence of fresh varnish, paint, and clean fiberglass greeting people as they walked… SEE MORE

The Ice & Smelt Festival will be held Feb. 3-4 at Mailly Waterfront Park in Bowdoinham.

A Festival of Smelt, Ice, and Fun in Bowdoinham

2/1/2012 - Anyone who has lived through a Maine winter knows that you need to find your fun outdoors or you'll go stir crazy waiting for spring and, eventually, summer. Luckily there are a bunch of great festivals that actually celebrate freezing your butt off outside, and surely one of the quirkiest… SEE MORE

A late January sunset unfolds over Port Clyde Harbor and Muscongus Bay.

One Shimmering Moment: The January Thaw in Port Clyde

1/31/2012 - Every once in a while, a day will come in late January when you swear you can almost taste spring. It may only be for a brief moment, but there it is, and there is no denying it. It might be the light in the air, the shimmering reflections off… SEE MORE

Oysters at the annual Pemaquid Oyster Festival, held on the last sunday in September.

Maine Oyster Country: Newcastle and Damariscotta

1/30/2012 - Oyster cultivation on the coast of Maine is on the increase, thanks to our clean, cold, salty, water. This water is full of nutrients, and it's part of what gives our oysters their delightfully distinctive taste. Maine oysters have their moment in the sun, literally, on the last Sunday in… SEE MORE

An old boatyard at the northern end of the Pool, on Great Cranberry Island's eastern side.

In the Lee of Acadia: Welcome to Great Cranberry Island

1/24/2012 - Great Cranberry Island, a lovely oasis of sloping meadows, protected inlets, and rocky shores, is truly a place where you can escape the hustle and bustle of the outside world. Sitting just two miles off Mount Desert Island, GCI, as the locals call it, is the largest of the Cranberry… SEE MORE

Homes

A fishing pier in Milbridge, home to clammers and lobstermen alike.

Pulling a Living from the Mud in Milbridge

1/19/2012 - His name is Richard Stanwood, his profession is clamming, and his home is Milbridge. A stout fifty-four-year-old who has been raking the local mudflats since he was 7, Stanwood wouldn’t have it any other way. “I was born right here in this town, over there on my kitchen table,” he… SEE MORE

Keeper's House and Light Tower at Matinicus Rock

Historic Island Structures Receive Needed Maintenance

1/10/2012 - The Maine Coastal Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex is responsible for maintaining five lighthouses and their accompanying structures. Four of these are on the National Register of Historic Places and must be maintained to historic preservation standards. Major maintenance was recently completed on the three of the four. At Matinicus… SEE MORE

One of the many watery threads through the pink granite of Merchants Row. Photo by Tom Young/USHarbors.com.

Following a Thread of Water Through Merchants Row

1/9/2012 - Sailing out of the eastern end of the Fox Island Thorofare, the distant coast ahead from huge Deer Isle all the way to high Isle Au Haut appears to be continuous. It’s not until we’ve sailed halfway across the bay that the solid green between the big islands begins to… SEE MORE