There was a time not long ago when Maine literature-or, more accurately, literature about Maine-was largely written by and for people from away. Transplants or seasonal visitors like E.B. White, Louise Dickinson Rich and Henry David Thoreau wrote of our state, land and people with the adoration that comes with falling in love with someplace
Island Connections
We had visited the island for April break last year as well, only discovering Alton Ballance’s connection to the Island Institute after booking four nights at the National Park Service campground, tucked into the dunes that line the Hatteras National Seashore. Alton showed us around the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching, including
Island boys on the West Coast
For those who don’t know the Toughcats, they are Colin Gulley, Jake Greenlaw and Joe Nelson, all with roots in the Fox Islands (also known as North Haven and Vinalhaven.) The Toughcats have been playing together for about seven years, and in that time have made quite a name for themselves, not only here in
Spring comes to the sea
Although less visible to us than the freezing and thawing that transform our local lakes from swimming holes to ice-fishing haunts, the waters off the coast of Maine undergo similarly dramatic seasonal cycles. And the physical transformations in the water trigger changes that create a sea of plenty-phytoplankton feeding zooplankton feeding tiny fish, larval lobsters,
Islands pass PACE
Starting April 4, residents of Chebeague, Vinalhaven and North Haven became eligible to receive low-interest loans of up to $15,000 from Efficiency Maine to weatherize and make energy efficiency improvements to their homes. The opportunity comes with the launch of Maine PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy), a revolving loan program designed to stimulate the demand
Can a 21-year-old revitalize lobster processing? By Craig Idlebrook
When St. George Realty agent Peggy Crockett was contacted by Kyle Murdock this spring about buying a seafood processing plant, she felt she had found a client who knew what he wanted. Murdock wanted to buy the foreclosed Great Eastern Mussel Farm plant in Tenants Harbor for his new lobster processing company, Sea Hag Seafoods.
The Outer Islands Teaching and Learning Collaborative
Island Institute Fellow Anne Bardaglio looks over a pile of information about Old Fort Western, the Maine State Museum, and Penobscot Chief Barry Dana’s farm. She is putting together a trip for the students from Maine’s thoroughly modern one-room schools. This May, students who, until recently, would have had a hard time getting to know
Divide and Conquer
When the New England groundfish fleet was given the choice between continuing with the days-at-sea fisheries management approach or a new, sectors-based system that divides the entire allowable catch of cod, flounder and other bottom-dwelling fish into specific allotments for each boat, many saw the sectors approach as the lesser of two evils. Now, with
Columbia Falls oil spill impacts fisheries
The response was swift. Equipment and workers from DEP and Clean Harbors, Inc. (an international energy and environmental service company) were immediately deployed from their Portland and Hammond offices. By the time the first booms were set on the Pleasant River, van de Sande had bushwhacked up stream and identified a point source at Aunt
Penobscot Island Air expands service
Penobscot Island Air has provided passenger service, mail, UPS and Fedex, grocery and freight delivery, sightseeing and emergency trips for island communities since it took over the duty from the previous air service in 2004. Now, the flying service is expanding its offerings with the addition of an amphibious float plane to its little fleet.