Six applicants — the Town of Machiasport, the Sprucehead Fishermen’s Co-op, the Boothbay Region Land Trust, groups advocating for Holbrook’s Wharf on Cundy’s Harbor, the Town of Isle au Haut and Perio Point Shellfish on Beals Island — will benefit from Maine’s first Working Waterfront Protection grants.
The grants are funded from $2 million in Maine’s latest Land for Maine’s Future bond issue dedicated to preserving working waterfront properties. The Land for Maine’s Future board made the selections at a meeting on Jan. 16.
Machiasport will be able to purchase a right of way to secure clamming access to one of the region’s most productive clamming flats. The Spruce Head Fishermen’s Co-op in South Thomaston, serving 75 fishermen, will complete the purchase of the property that they have been leasing for over 30 years.
The Boothbay Region Land Trust will be able to complete the purchase of a property on Barter’s Island that will continue providing critical access to local fishermen.
The Holbrook’s Community Foundation and the Trust for Public Land will be able to complete the Foundation’s purchase of Holbrook’s Wharf on Cundy’s Harbor in Harpswell, a historically active pier in the midst of a working harbor with potential for future growth.
The town of Isle au Haut will use its share of the funds to protect access and ensure its viability and availability to the year-round fishermen who are at the core of the permanent community there. And Perio Point Shellfish on Beals Island, an important fishing facility that serves nearly 100 fishermen from multiple fisheries and includes 2 lobster pounds, will be permanently protected.
“Sometimes, living on the island can feel like an outpost on the moon,” commented Steve Shaffer, a selectman on Isle au Haut. “Connections to the mainland are sometimes tenuous, and a large degree of self-sufficiency is required. It is important that the island remains a working community reliant on its year-round population. This grant ensures that we are able to support and maintain our fishing tradition.”
All applicants who receive bond funds will be required to enter into a Working Waterfront Covenant. This is a legal written agreement between the owner of the property and the holder of the covenant, which in the case of this program is the Department of Marine Resources (DMR). The covenants ensure that these properties will retain their capacity to support commercial fisheries as the highest priority use.
With very limited funds still available in the first round of funding, the Working Waterfront Access Protection Program will reopen the applicant process for a limited time. Run by the DMR and LMF, the program is supported by Coastal Enterprises Inc. and the Island Institute, which serve as program managers and provide assistance and advice to grant applicants to assure that their proposals are complete and meet the minimum program requirements.
According to the DMR program leader, Cindy Smith, “All our partners are looking forward to working with folks who couldn’t fit into our timeline the first time around as well as with new projects. The high number of inquires during the first round is clear evidence of the need for this program and the support it provides to a vital part of Maine’s economy.”
George Lapointe, Commissioner of the DMR and the chair of the LMF Board, said that Maine’s working waterfronts “are essential to the future of our fishing industry and to the character of the state. The Working Waterfront Access Protection Program is an important new tool in our efforts to secure the state’s more than 39,000 fishing and related jobs – and the $750 million in state revenue those jobs provide and we have just begun to put this tool to work.”
For more information about the program please call (207) 772-5356 or visit www.wwapp.org.
Jennifer Litteral is Marine and Working Waterfront Programs Officer at the Island Institute.
Meetings will explain tools for preserving working waterfronts
In an effort to introduce the upcoming Working Waterfront Current Use Tax program to potential users, five meetings are being offered along the coast, beginning in February. Attendees will learn about the specifics of this new program, and how it might apply to their interests in preserving working waterfronts.
In addition, attendees will gain information about other options for preserving working waterfront infrastructure and access, and there will be opportunities to ask questions and discuss specific points of the various programs. The meetings will bring potential users together with tax assessors, harbormasters, town managers and others, and improve the chances of successful applications.
The meeting schedule is:
Feb. 20: 6 p.m. Machias Savings Bank, Community Room
Feb. 27: 6 p.m. Ellsworth Town Hall Auditorium
Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Rockport: Friday, March 2, 10:30 a.m.
March 6: 6 p.m. Parkwood Inn, Brunswick
March 13: 6 p.m. Hampton Inn, Saco.
The meetings are made available through funds from University of Maine Cooperative Extension in collaboration with the Maine Sea Grant Program, Island Institute, the Maine Office of Revenue Services, Maine State Planning Office, Coastal Enterprises Inc, and the Working Waterfront Coalition.
Light refreshments will be available at each meeting.
For information contact Jen Litteral at (207) 594-9209; or Dana Morse at (207) 563-3145, ext. 205.