The Working Waterfront Feb/Mar 2021

News of Maine’s Coast and Islands

THE WORKING

volume 35, № 1

published by the island institute

‘Digital equity’ opens internet for seniors

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feb/mar 2021 n free circulation: 50,000

workingwaterfront.com

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Tablet program helps relieve isolation for older users

By Laurie Schreiber

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es Stanwood is 80 years old and lives in Addison. Although he’s retired, he remains active in his community, serving on the board of a local health agency.

Like many people confronted by the pandemic early on, he realized he would have to shift to remote communications for his personal needs and to continue his community work. But he was unfamiliar with the basic functions of a computer, like getting emails and opening attachments.

Then he heard about a program launched early in the pandemic by the National Digital Equity Center in Machias. The program offers a low-cost subscription to a tablet and internet connection, with the first 90 days free, to any Maine resident 70 years and older lacking access. The subscription is also available to people under 70, but without the 90-day free start.

The tablets arrive at recipients’ homes pre-loaded with apps such as email and videoconferencing. The center offers free tutoring to help recipients learn

Photographer Judy Berk, who is fond of wandering the coast in the early morning hours from Belfast to Rockport, captured this colorful collection of boats in Camden Harbor.

how to use the tablet; recipients can participate in as many tutoring sessions and classes as they wish.

“I don’t have a technical mind and don’t grasp the concepts as easily as I might have a few years ago,” said Stanwood, who spoke via video-recording. “But the instructors have infinite patience, which helped me through a lot of this. I have no fear now.”

The program conforms with the National Digital Equity Center’s mission of digital equity and inclusion. The center’s founder and director, Susan Corbett, is on the ConnectMaine Authority board and co-chairs the infrastructure subcommittee of the Governor’s Economic Recovery Committee. continued on page 5

Massachusetts proposes lobstering ‘pause’ Lawsuits seeking enforcement of whale laws near final phase

By Craig Idlebrook

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dire decline of North Atlantic right whales and a pair of court rulings are pushing regulators to

propose new restrictions on lobstering in New England waters. The proposed regulations aim to reduce the risk of the endangered whales becoming entangled with lobster trap gear.

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Massachusetts lobstermen have dealt While much of the new proposed restrictions will not immediately with targeted closures and gear restricimpact lobstering in Maine state waters, tions in the past, but this would be the the Maine Lobstermen’s Association is first time that lobstering would be paused contesting another lawsuit that could in all state waters for several months.

“We proposed to go hand down new restricstatewide, but we are tions off the state’s coast reviewing comments in the near future.

The Massachusetts “They are prioritizing we’ve received from the industry,” said Dan Department of Marine fishing, and they McKiernan, MDMF Fisheries (MDMF) can’t do that.” director. “We will be in a has proposed regulaposition to make a final tions that would ban —KRISTEN MONSELL recommendation to our lobstering from February marine fisheries advito May in Massachusetts sory commission, and state waters to allow safe passage for the right whales as they that meeting is scheduled on Jan. 28.”

In addition, the National Oceanic migrate. The regulations would also reduce the amount of vertical trap lines and Atmospheric Administration in Massachusetts waters and require the (NOAA) recently released proposed use of trap lines that more easily break changes to its Atlantic Large Whale when an entanglement might occur, Take Reduction Plan that would affect among other measures. continued on page 5

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The Working Waterfront . February/March 2021

Lost at sea: Cruise ships faces uncertain future Bar Harbor weighs concerns about impacts of visits

By Tom Walsh

“Old Port” waterfront in Portland includes Maine’s or without cruise ships, which has financial implicaonly cruise ship terminal, which accommodates tions for the town’s budget. The cruise ship revenue n paper, Bar Harbor was expecting more significantly fewer ships than does Bar Harbor, where may go away, but the programs that revenue is than 150 cruise ship visits this year.In cruise ships anchor offshore, using tenders to ferry funding will not go away.”

Goldthwait said she has seen a growing local passengers to and from shore to attractions on Mount reality—fat chance. interest in the environmental impact of cruise ships, The COVID-19 tsunami finds the global cruise ship Desert Island, including Acadia National Park.

Eastport has had some recent success in wooing either while anchored just offshore or underway. industry in shambles and has left traditional ports of “There are those who feel it is not possible to have call, including a handful in Maine, with many more small cruise ships—think 400 passengers, not 4,000—but has the infrastructure and capability to an environmentally friendly cruise ship.” questions than answers.

Bar Harbor resident Darron Collins, whose day The world’s largest cruise ship operator, Carnival, host cruise ships of any size.

“With the ‘no sail’ order in place, we are very job is president of the College of the Atlantic in Bar estimates it burned through $530 million a month much in a wait-and-see situation,” Harbor, expressed some of his concerns in a recent during its most recent fourth quarter, said Chris Gardner, who oversees letter to town officials. given debt payments, commissions, “We can have a town with a thriving economy, one the Eastport Port Authority. “The deposit refunds, and other finanindustry is in complete and total that supports local business, and one that sees and cial obligations. Smaller competi“We need to figure flux and will have to be reconfig- understands the long view and not be held captive tors such as Royal Caribbean and Norwegian cruise lines have been out how to live with or ured. We have a great relation- by the cruise ship industry,” he said. “The cruise ship has utterly destroyed magnificent icons of dealing with monthly cash burns without cruise ships…” ship with the industry. Whatever industry they are eventually allowed to do, world tourism—the Barcelonas and Venices of the of $270 million and $175 million, —JILL GOLDTHWAIT Eastport is ready to welcome them world. I could write a laundry list of the evils of cruise respectively. back. I think 2021 will be a very ships—the labor involved, the ballast water, whale Carnival recently sold at least 18 strikes, effluent, CO2, etc., but none of those probinteresting year.” of its fleet’s cruise ships, some to Jill Goldthwait, a Bar Harbor lematic issues would hold a candle to the destrucnew owners, others to be scrapped as the industry takes on the heavy lifting required to town council member, says a potentially limited 2021 tion of place. Cruise ships have turned Venice into a Disney World caricature … and reinvent itself after cruise ships were determined in cruise ship season affords the town they threaten to do the same with 2020 to be among the earliest vectors of the ongoing, a chance to seek guidance from our town.” its 5,500 year-round residents and global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Writing as a resident, not a COA Beyond the economic bleeding, cruise ship opera- others invested in the local cruise “We should dictate official, Collins stops well-short of tors and their ships’ ports of call are overwhelmed by ship economy. The council, she sensible limits on that suggesting a ban on cruise ship visits pandemic-induced restrictions and regulations. An said, is now considering a commuto Bar Harbor. industry to preserve unprecedented “No sail” order last March from the nity-wide survey, using the results “I hope that, as a town council, you U.S. Centers for Disease Control wound up scuttling to help determine policy for coexsome degree of take steps to forcefully draw some U.S. cruise ship revenues in 2020. State, federal, and isting with cruise ships and the tranquility.” line in the sand with the industry as international cruise ship health requirements and tens of thousands of passengers a whole. They depend on us. They and crew they bring ashore. That safety protocols remain a moving target.

—DARRON COLLINS profit enormously by exploiting On the same afternoon that Bar Harbor’s town consulting project could be funded our resource. We are in the driver council met in early January to sort through and through the town’s cruise ship seat, not the other way around. discuss a litany of unknowns, COVID-19 hospital- revenue set-aside.

“There is a very deep division within the commu- We should, therefore, dictate sensible limits on that izations and deaths hit record levels, in Maine and nity, including very many community members who industry to preserve some degree of tranquility, to elsewhere.

Coastal Maine has six deep-water ports than can don’t want the level of cruise ship activity that we preserve the resource that is MDI, and to preserve accommodate cruise ships: Bar Harbor, Portland, have had,” she said. “We’ve never seen this level of the long-term economic, cultural, and ecological Bucksport, Eastport, Searsport, and Rockland. The intensity. But we need to figure out how to live with integrity of this magnificent place.”

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SEAWALL WORK — Farley Inc. of Rockport is rebuilding the seawall in Bayside, just south of Belfast. The harbor is managed by the Northport Village Corporation, a private community within the town of Northport. Farley will use almost 300 granite blocks quarried in Prospect for the $1 million project. The blocks were cut to size

by Freshwater Stone in Orland. PHOTO: TOM GROENING

. April 2020 . February/March www.workingwaterfront.com www.workingwaterfront.com 2021

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Basking shark washes ashore in Bremen Department of Marine Resources responds

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dead basking shark washed ashore in Bremen in early January. The Department of Marine Resources responded to calls from local residents, and marine biologists took tissue samples.

According to the website Oceana, the basking shark is the second largest fish in the world, and like the largest fish (the whale shark) and the largest animal (the great whales), basking sharks are filter feeders that eat tiny, planktonic prey.

Oceana reports the fish can grow to 40 feet long. The dead one in Bremen was estimated at 26 feet, and was first discovered by resident John Stirratt while on a walk along the shore.

“The basking shark can give an intimidating impression, but they are quite harmless,” the site notes. “They spend most of their time near the surface, swimming with their extraordinarily large mouths open, filtering out their preferred prey, but they may also make deeper, feeding dives.”

John Martin, Bud Staples, and Elsie Gillespie chat around the woodstove at the annual town meeting.

COURTESY DEPARTMENT OF MARINE RESOURCES

COURTESY CRISSY STIRRATT

COURTESY SARAH WINEBERG THORPE

For the record

Levi Moulden

The Rock Bound column in the December/January issue incorrectly reported election results from Friendship, reversing the numbers. In fact, Donald Trump carried the town, 59.7 percent to Joe Biden’s 38.7 percent.

Bud Staples

Gerald “Punkin” Lemoine COURTESY CRISSY STIRRATT

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The Working Waterfront . February/March 2021

Book Reviews

When jobs have deadly community consequences Memoir asks: Will Maine balk at exploitation?

Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains Kerri Arsenault (2020)

Review by Tina Cohen

M

ill Town, with no specific location in its title, could refer to a lot of places. Here it refers to Rumford, where Arsenault grew up in the adjacent town of Mexico, across the Androscoggin River from the paper mill. The mill held central importance for everyone; when Arsenault was growing up, it was where both her father and grandfather worked.

As an adult returning to visit her family home, the devastating effect that dioxin, created by the mill, had on the health of the community and environment became chillingly clear to her.

Dioxin is described as a “toxic byproduct of the chlorine paper-bleaching process and mill sludge waste incineration.”

Dioxin’s notoriety includes being an Agent Orange ingredient as well the toxin in New York’s Love Canal.

Even when the Rumford area was dubbed “Cancer Valley” after a 1991 exposé on Boston television, most residents remained complacent. The mill provided incomes that allowed families a fragile financial stability. Arguably, those jobs were slowly sickening them, leaving them with a high incidence of a

rare form of lymphoma, prostate and colon cancers, aplastic anemia, and lung disease.

Arsenault’s father, diagnosed with asbestosis of the lungs after his retirement, ultimately died with esophageal and lung cancer. On her visits, Arsenault talks with Terry, the widow of Doc Martin, once Rumford’s primary physician. He had fought hard to convince federal and state agencies to investigate, but his pleading fell on deaf ears.

And Arsenault wonders, why didn’t the workers themselves express concern? She considers an attitude of “not rocking the boat.” Many in the two towns, including her family, had Acadian roots. She theorizes that their ancestors, forced from their homes and farmland by the English in the 1750s and expelled from Canada’s Maritime provinces, were eager to rebuild community life and obtain work. Once employed—many at mills like Rumford’s—they were grateful for what they had. Why jeopardize that?

Arsenault’s book is described as a memoir, and while it is a telling of her experience growing up in a mill town, it also broadens into a consideration of the power corporations have and its potential for abuse. And that is where Mill Town stops being about Rumford and has pertinence for all of us. She

Just as I finished this book, I read describes, for example, how Nestlé obtains water rights in Maine for what it news describing pollution by another bottles under various labels, including paper mill in Maine, this time at Old Town on the Poland Spring. It Penobscot River. has even procured In October 2020, Rumford water to more than 30,000 sell. She talks about The story has placed gallons of pulping unemployment and demands on her that chemicals leaked jobs moving away, over six days. While poverty on the feel unrelenting. an effluent permit increase and growing allows the mill to opioid abuse. discharge some of Her writing can be jarringly poetic given the grim focus. its production waste into the river, Other times, the language is blunt and unlicensed chemical discharge violates state and federal laws. down to earth: That mill is owned by a Chinese conglomerate, Nine Dragons, or ND, “ In Maine, we clear-cut our also the newest owner of the mill in forests while tourists exalt them.

Rumford. The paper pulp from Old Pollution bankrupts the fresh Town is exported to China for use in air we advertise. We let dioxins production of cardboard. For the 130 invade our environment, which new jobs, all non-union, 1,200 applied. end up in lobsters tourists eat.

At its opening ceremonies, Sen. We celebrate Thoreau’s voice but Angus King saluted the mill’s revival drown it out with the growl of

by ND, saying: “The paper industry chain saws. What gives our town in Maine is coming back. Why is this life could also be what’s killing it.” important to Maine? Because trees are And because the narration is so what we’ve got.”

I winced a bit at that. Wouldn’t personal, Arsenault allows her emotions into the telling. She is outraged, depressed, Maine’s most important resource be a overwhelmed, angry, frustrated—as healthy environment? Arsenault might well as tenacious. The story has placed say that expectation seems drowned out by the growl of chain saws. Or demands on her that feel unrelenting.

That crush of reality becomes the read- drowned in Maine’s waters the mills er’s plight as well. There is little to feel are allowed to pollute. heartened by, except that Arsenault has been able to write a compelling story we can learn from and ideally take as moti- Tina Cohen is a seasonal resident of vation to pay more attention ourselves.

Vinalhaven.

‘Till the landslide brought me down

Susan Conley novel offers unvarnished look at Maine coast life Landslide Susan Conley

“Landslide,” with what we soon come to find out are relevant lyrics:

By Carl Little

Well, I’ve been ‘fraid of changin’ ‘Cause I’ve built my life around you But time makes you bolder Even children get older And I’m gettin’ older, too.

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arly in season one of the FX series Fargo the ex-stripper Gina Hess says of her misbehaving teenage sons, “They’re wolves.” This appraisal came to mind near the beginning of Susan Conley’s fourth novel Landslide when the chief protagonist and narrator, Jillian Archer, uses the same animal analogy to describe her two sons, Sam, 14, and his older brother Charlie, 17.

As they drive down a peninsula somewhere in Maine listening to Fleetwood Mac on the radio, Jillian tells her “wolves” she was raised on Stevie Nicks. While the name of the song is not mentioned, no doubt it’s

Conley’s novel represents a kind of landslide—of setbacks and confrontations, uncertainty and disquiet. And then there’s survival: The Archer family lives on a small island off Sewall, a fictional Maine coast town, in a former fishing shack with inadequate and expensive baseboard heating. They go back and forth by boat, to school and work. Jillian is a documentary filmmaker; her husband Kit, a fisherman.

Two incidents are key to the storyline: the accidental death of Sam’s friend Liam two years earlier and the more recent explosion on a boat off Georges Bank where Kit has been fishing and in which he almost loses his life. The repercussions of both events are felt throughout, be it Sam’s incessant acting out or Kit’s problematic relationship with a woman who comforts him in Nova Scotia.

The book is replete with mother-son skirmishes. Jillian’s life is a constant angst-filled guessing game: Is Sam doing drugs? Is Charlie having sex?

Why don’t they listen to her?

Conley deftly traces the mood swings as the family navigates reprimands, accusations, and Instagram. The boys want their freedom—“I live in a police state,” Sam declares when he finds out his mother is checking his social media—but also require grounding.

Throughout the book, Conley references issues impacting the Maine fishery. The waters are warming, forcing

lobstermen to go farther out to haul, and in a “post-cod” era, fishermen are selling off trawlers and fending off lenders.

Jillian’s new documentary is about the fishing community so she’s up on the damning data. She tells Kit’s fisherman father, the stalwart Jimmy, there are only “20 commercial fishing boats left in the state and 20 miles of working waterfront.”

In the end Landslide is about family and community and how fragile each is in the often less-than-grand scheme of Maine coast existence. Self-reliance will only get you so far; eventually, you’ll need help. In considering how many people are moving to Maine, Jillian wonders at one point if the state has become “some stand-in for people’s lost innocence.”

This book is about the cycle of innocence lost and found—and re-found. It feels real in the tradition of Ruth Moore or Ted Holmes, unadorned and heartfelt. Kudos to Conley for bringing this painful and promising world to life.

www.workingwaterfront.com . February/March 2021

DIGITAL EQUITY

the person hits the web link and they’re seeing their instructor for the first time. They’re able to connect with family and friends, with health care providers The subcommittee’s recommendations in the final and, even if they can’t physically be someone, they at report to the governor included advancing digital least can see them through videoconferencing.”

The center does a lot of work to get the tablets equity and inclusion by increasing access to broadband, computers, mobile devices, and expanded ready for subscriber use, explained Robert Hohman, a web developer and digital literacy training for a volunteer and tutor support historically underserved indimanager at the center who viduals and communities. started the tablet program with The pandemic highlighted lack two other tutors. of connectivity, due to inadequate The process for getting the broadband availabilty and/or lack “The instructors have tablets to recipients is meticuof affordable devices, Corbett lously planned.

Pre-loads said. That’s been true for various infinite patience, which include a Google account, populations, including the elderly, helped me through a lot of email address, and videoconferschoolchildren, remote workers, ence app. The tablet is mailed and rural communities. Health this. I have no fear now.” to the subscriber, with a letter care management alone illus—LES STANWOOD that explains the program. The trated the need for connectivity; subscriber then calls the center. the use of telehealth services has Initial instruction occurs by soared during the health emerphone, when the tutor explains gency, she noted. how to turn on the device and The center had funds to open videoconferencing. purchase tablets and put them in “Most people are pretty good at following instructhe hands of older adults experiencing social isolation.

“Many of these folks have never used the technology tions, even if they don’t understand what they’re before,” she said. “You can imagine the pure joy as doing,” Hohman said.

Continued from page 1

LOBSTERING PAUSE

Continued from page 1

lobstering in federal waters, stretching from Maine to Rhode Island. The regulations would require gear to be color coded by state, and lobstermen to use more traps between buoy lines and so-called “weak” rope. It would also increase the number of seasonal closures for buoy-line lobstering and crab fishing.

The new proposed regulations come in the wake of a pair of court rulings that found that Massachusetts and federal regulators have not adequately protected the endangered whales under the federal Endangered Species Act. In a lawsuit arguing that Massachusetts regulators had failed to meet the law, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ruled in late April 2020 that the state of Massachusetts must apply for an incidental take permit. This special permit, required for legal activities that may result in the death of endangered animals, is scrutinized to ensure that all steps are taken to minimize the risk to the endangered species, and that any incidental death won’t reduce the likelihood of the survival of the species.

In a separate federal ruling in August 2020, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered the National Marines Fishery Service to revise its rules for U.S. lobstering to include an incidental take statement when it comes to right whales, after he ruled that it had improperly left the statement out of a 2014 assessment.

The fishery service has a deadline of May 31 to submit the new regulations to Judge Boasberg. A similar lawsuit focused on Maine’s lobstering fishery is paused until that May 31 deadline has passed, since the judge overseeing the Maine case decided the two cases were similar, according to a blogpost from the Maine Lobstermen’s Community Alliance.

For years, regulators, conservationists, and stakeholders in the U.S. lobster industry have known that entanglement has been a significant threat to the endangered North Atlantic right whale population.

The U.S. lobster industry has worked diligently to reduce the risk of entanglement, according to public comments by Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association. “(U.S.) lobstermen have done everything they have been asked to protect right whales and remain committed to doing their part to save the species,” McCarron said in a statement posted to a webpage

dedicated to raising legal funds to fight restrictions on the Maine lobster industry.

However, conservationists argue that federal and state regulators have not been meeting their responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act for years, and that more needs to be done now that the whale population has been in steep decline. There are now estimated to be only 70 breeding female North Atlantic right whales left, said Kristen Monsell, oceans program litigation director for the Center for Biological Diversity. Regulators too often favor commerce over the requirements of the law, she said.

“With respect to the fishery service management of the lobster fishery, they are not prioritizing right whales. They are prioritizing fishing, and they can’t do that,” Monsell said.

The plummeting number of whales and the new steps being proposed have left some in the lobster industry wondering if lobstering or the whales themselves may go extinct in the near future. In public meetings, Massachusetts lobstermen declared the proposed four-month ban on lobstering could put many in the state’s lobster industry out of business.

“I’m just trying to plan for the future of fisheries. I mean, if we have a closure this will really close down the state to any type of income,” said Massachusetts fisherman Mike Lane, according to a Massachusetts public radio report.

Others hold out hope that the lobster industry can adapt to share the waters with the endangered whales. To adapt, the lobster industry likely will need to continue to develop and utilize rope that can break free when entanglement occurs, as well as technology that can bring traps up to the surface without the use of vertical rope.

Currently, many in the lobster industry worry that such modifications are not ready for everyday use and are too expensive. Dr. Sean Todd, director of Allied Whale and a marine sciences professor at the College of the Atlantic, has long contended the new technologies will get better and more affordable if more people utilize it, and he remains hopeful for the future of the whales and the U.S. lobster industry.

“I think the two can coexist; I think it’s a matter of modified practices,” Todd said.

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Once videoconferencing is going, the tutor turns on screen-sharing.

“That way, we can see what they’re seeing and that make it much easier to explain things,” he said.

From there, the digital world is the subscriber’s oyster.

“In many ways, our tutors are guided by the particular person’s interests,” Hohman said.

Telehealth, email, and web browsers are top choices.

Subscribers can enroll in online classes, including those offered by the center, such as word processing, cloud storage, internet safety, and online games.

Some folks, perhaps referred to the program by family members, are a bit skeptical, he said.

“Some people’s experience with using technology in the past might be one where they were baffled,” he said. “But things have simplified so much. Once people start using it, most of them really enjoy it.”

In addition to telehealth, subscribers communicate with family and friends, shop online, stream entertainment, and conduct work and community activities.

One of Stanwood’s favorite apps? Google Earth.

“I can do a lot of armchair traveling,” he said.

“Everything I’ve learned here, I find beneficial. I would highly recommend it to anyone, particularly if they’re in my age group and might be a little afraid of the computer, as I was.”

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The Working Waterfront . February/March 2021

Seafood: great for health, environment, economy A broader menu could help fishing industry and ocean

By Laurie Schreiber

residents consume the two servings per week recommended by federal eafood has a lot going for it when it dietary guidelines, she said.

Per year, average individuals consume comes to health, the environment, 92 pounds of chicken. Seafood? Only and the economy.

“We’d like to see more seafood on 16 pounds.

From the environmental standpeople’s plates and also see working waterfronts and coastal communities point, management of fisheries as a thriving and not just surviving,” said Kyle public resource holds the industry to Foley, senior program manager of the high conservation standards, she said. sustainable seafood program at the Gulf Regulators incorporate precautionary principles based on science that answers of Maine Research Institute in Portland.

Foley recently gave a virtual talk, basic questions such as: how many fish hosted by the Augusta-based Maine are there and how many can be harvested Conservation Voters, on the role fisheries while leaving enough in the water so play in making food production more species can replenish themselves?

Additionally, the fisheries are subject sustainable for the health of the planet.

Her message? Eat more seafood. to a public policy-making process that includes stakeholders It’s a healthy protein of all stripes—fishthat helps sustain ermen, scientists, local economies conservationists, busithrough responPer year, average nesses, and others. sible harvesting and “It’s not a Wild management, she individuals consume West situation it said.

92 pounds of chicken. might have been “Fisheries are an Seafood? decades go,” she said. important part of our C o n s e q u e n t l y, food system and they Only 16 pounds. depleted fish stocks have great potential have improved to continue to be an over the past three important part of decades, she added. the food system if we “We saw a lot of fishery collapses in prioritize them,” she said.

Many consider seafood a healthy late 1980s and ‘90s,” she said. “A lot of part of the diet. But only one in ten U.S. those stocks have been rebuilt.”

S

From the economic standpoint, New England’s lobster and scallops are by far the most important seafood sectors. In 2018, Maine’s lobster fishery was worth $492 million; New Bedford, Mass.’s scallop fishery totaled $431 million.

But there’s plenty more opportunity. In 2018, all groundfish species combined earned only $80 million throughout New England and the midAtlantic region.

“That’s pretty different from what it used to be when this region landed a lot more cod and haddock in particular,” Foley said.

The value dropped because, although stocks are rebuilt, the global marketplace today supplies 90 percent of seafood consumed in the U.S. Because massive fisheries operate elsewhere in the world, it can be cheaper for U.S. eateries to import than buy from local fleets.

“That’s not to put blame on the restaurants,” she added. “It’s a financial decision that makes sense.”

Another challenge is that the U.S. mainly consumes just shrimp, salmon, canned tuna, and tilapia. But other species abound in U.S. waters.

“They’re species that are wellmanaged, but fishermen receive low value because there’s less awareness and less demand for them,” she said.

In 2018, fishermen harvested less than half and sometimes under a

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quarter of their allowable catch for mackerel, pollock, redfish, whiting, and dogfish, she said. Across the region, fishermen brought in $24 million worth of the five species. If they’d received at least $1 per pound and caught 100 percent of their quotas, they would have earned over $300 million, she said.

GMRI is working to optimize fishery value through several programs, including: • partnerships with companies in the supply chain • development of an “eco-label” to indicate responsible harvesting and traceability • and culinary partnerships with restaurants that have committed to using at least 20 percent of seafood from the Gulf of Maine, including lesser-known fish.

The pandemic shutdown of restaurants and food service had tremendous and ongoing impact on the seafood industry, she noted. That was mitigated somewhat by rising retail sales due to more home-cooking.

“But it’s still been a tough year,” she said.

Ultimately, she noted, it’s about food.

“No. 1—eat more seafood,” she said. “And eat a variety of seafood.

That helps diversify fishermen’s livelihoods.”

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23www.workingwaterfront.com February/March 2021

cRanBeRRy RepoRt

Coastal legislators focus on climate ting,Caucus painting lines, eating formed by Rep. Blume rallies, educates , and throwing rocks

houses, generally is in the 20-30 range, she said,

By Tom Groening down, islanders mix prep work and gatherings though its Dec. 15 meeting drew 40 legislators.

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In addition to sea level rise, the caucus has hen legislators in Congress and the bright red state with alegislature black stripe) and, like piece of purple rope to coastal the enderosion of the and offshore wind power. discussed find common interest— every otheracross lobsterthe fisherman buoyserve, line or toggle, all attachments Cruisebutships, tourism, the fishing industry, and bodies in in Maine which they must be madeocean with aacidification splice or a tuck. this winter, he readparty about,lines—they talked about,form also have been topics. A common and even across groups, stretchthough, to compare fol- change. and experimented paint.way Itoknow is climate known as caucuses.with It’s purple a strategic exertit’s atheme, The latest whale regulations “The coast has been dealing power, to offer support for ideasrequire lowing Maine whale rope requirebut climate change more allaMaine as votinglobster bloc. fishermen to use new ments with a plein air workshop,with markings the ropes attach to a person could return home from ei- ” Blume observed, and overtly, One suchongroup in thethey Maine lobster traps.

Depending on how close “The ther and say that they’d been paintin fact, as of 2019, the group has legislature is devoted to coastal coast has been were renamed the Coastal and to shorethough they fish, will have issues, itsthey leader, Rep. to add ing in their spare time. If Bruce been with writing an essayclimate on how he spentClimate his 2-4 purple marks on each Action Caucus. “The Lydia Blume, D-York, says buoy no line. dealing winter vacation, painting would be a On warps that are 100-feet or less there climate crisis affects so many Republicans currently attend her change more overtly.” the ” she said, everything from must bemeetings. one 12-inch purple mark with- part of it. Another part would beareas, group’s inBlume a fewformed fathoms the trap and a 36- description I heard him tell his brother health to transportation. Even theofcoastal caucus inch purple mark within 2 fathoms of Mark about walking to get doughnuts, internet access has a climate in 2015, during her first term. the If the warp thata 100 incommuFebruary, with our sonshe Robin, andbecause if more homes have component, argues, “I buoy. just decided that isI longer represent coastal grandchildren Henrythere and Cora. feet,” the for Ia 12-inch broadband, would Ibe less vehicle travel. nity, she requirement remembers, is“and was very our concerned purplesea mark nearrise the trap, was away in Portland, and recommendations come The Climate Council’s about level and aI second wanted12-to help otherwith friends awaythe with friendsthat in begins its work this winter, inch purple mark halfway legislature communities deal with it.” to the buoy, Stephanie wasbefore and a 36-inch mark near the buoy.

Florida.

Father and son were in charge.

Rather than merely rallying the troops for votes, and Blume believes the time is ripe for its serious “Yeah, we consideration. got doughnuts at The Brucehas figures be putting 1,500 of educating Blume used he thewill group as a means then 2015, walked the to 1,800and markings on his rope in all; two Cookie Jar and“Since thetoawareness has increased incredherself her coastal colleagues. beach for a picnic to throw to“There three weeks extra work legislators, if he does and ibly. and I think we’re rocks.” on a positive trajectory that this is are so of many citizen we need and it without number fish-said. Eating homemade reality,” she donuts said. to learn so hiring we canhelp. do aAbetter job,of ” she ermen are applying paint to their ropes gives throwing at the beach—if that state action on climate change is critical Sen. David Miramant, D-Camden, BlumerocksThough image many by resting likely,ofshe noteschildthat impacts will be on the local high marks.them in 3-foot long gutters isn’t a mirrorand made lengthwise-halved PVC pipe. hood summers on Islesford, I don’t level.

“It’s from one of the better caucuses.

It’s not a timeknow what is.

Bruce’s first attempt was with spray paint q “When it comes to resiliency and adaptation, it’s up waster,” he said. “She has consistently done a good job but he sooninmoved on to the”more effito the communities, and we need to make sure they of bringing good speakers. cient brush and which latex paint.

Fernald lives Islesford”(Little have theonresources, she said.

Attendance, includes membersBarbara of both Some fishermen will add a 3-foot Cranberry Island) with her husband Bruce.

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The Working Waterfront . February/March 2021

Rock Bound

Cleaning up our mess: be bold, practical As Maine plans for climate fixes, trash wars should inform

By Tom Groening THE STORY HORRIFIED ME. It hit close to home—literally. And it angered many, some demanding action be taken at the public policy level.

The story, broken in mid-December

by Ethan Andrews, editor of the Camden-based Free Press, reported that some bales of shredded plastic waste had apparently fallen off a ship from Northern Ireland calling at Mack Point in Searsport. The bales were discovered on the shore of Sears Island, a half mile away.

And the waste, believe it or not, was the cargo, not shipboard trash. It was destined for the Penobscot Energy Recovery Co. in Orrington, where it would be incinerated to make electricity (hence the “energy recovery”).

Ethan, an eloquent writer and reporter with a nose for stories with impact, first reported the arrival of the ship in the Free Press. A man from nearby Stockton Springs, walking along the Sears Island shore a few days later, spotted the bales and put two and two together and contacted Andrews.

My wife and I are fond of walking around the island on the shore; it’s about five miles. The Friends of Sears Island group has done a wonderful job creating

trails, overlooks, and historic markers.

The island is a wonderful natural resource, but bales of plastic trash shouldn’t be washing ashore anywhere.

The incident pulls back the curtain on a dirty reality—we never really solved the solid waste crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Those living here then will remember the urgency that came as state environmental law required closing landfills. The refuse those landfills held included dead batteries, used motor oil, diapers, and old paint, which of course eventually leached into ground water.

State government set ambitious— maybe unrealistically ambitious—recycling goals. Towns and cities opened recycling centers, and people became versed in the differences between No. 2 and No. 5 plastic, between corrugated cardboard and fiberboard.

Slowly, markets for recycled material emerged and grew. But recycling rates leveled off. In 1989, a goal of recycling 50 percent of municipal solid waste was established. The most recent numbers, for 2016, show the state’s recycling rate is at 36.7 percent.

I believe it’s possible to increase recycling levels, but more needs to be done on the supply side. An admittedly anecdotal observation: there

seems to be more plastic packaging in grocery stores, even for organic produce, than ever before. Some cities and towns passed ordinances banning grocery store plastic bags—which generally aren’t recyclable—but since the pandemic, the major chains have returned to using them, and those ordinances have been suspended.

Much municipal recycling has gone to “single sort,” which eliminates the need to know your cardboard from your fiberboard. It’s like the recycling version of airbags vs. seatbelts, moving recycling from intention to technology.

After decades-long contracts with trash-to-energy incinerators, many towns have turned to companies that take on recyclables and trash, and extract commodities from the latter.

Pre-COVID, much of U.S. recyclables were sold to China, but those markets were upset with the trade wars. Which brings us back to plastic trash washing up on our shores. Those trash incinerators still need BTU-rich fuel to burn, and so they are importing it. From places like Northern Ireland.

The response all those years ago to the trash crisis holds lessons for the state’s response to climate change. The Maine Climate Council’s recommendations will be shaped by the legislature

this session. A key lesson is that goals must be practical and attainable and should not rely on good intentions.

Another recent state crisis response should inform the climate action. In 2008, when gasoline and heating fuel prices hit $4.50 a gallon, the Baldacci administration pushed for and won legislation that allowed wind turbine projects to get fast-track approval. Those turbines are producing carbon-free electricity now, but you only get one chance to make a first impression, and some of the projects, by virtue of being too close to homes, gave it a black eye.

So as state government begins crafting a bold, comprehensive plan to reduce our carbon pollution—as well it should—it should consider these lessons. An image that cheers me when I see or read about it is an array of photovoltaic panels on top of a closed landfill. It’s a monument to never again being so irresponsible with our waste, and an embracing of a new way to power our world.

Tom Groening is editor of The Working Waterfront.

Reflections

Keeping islanders busy through COVID Chebeague Island embraces activity: dance parties to cooking

By Kiran Grewal I AM A SUCKER FOR a pretty view.

If you were to scroll through the pictures on my phone, you would see an abundance of sunsets over beaches, waves crashing against boats in the bay, evergreen trees swaying in the wind, the lamplight breaking through the thick fog on the wharf—everything that makes living on a Maine island especially breathtaking. In the few months I have been here, it hasn’t yet gotten old, and I doubt it ever will.

The physical beauty of Chebeague Island is only a small part of its magic.

The close-knit community of yearround residents is kind, supportive, and incredibly welcoming to someone who was essentially a stranger, who showed up out of the blue to live here and help out for two years.

From the very beginning, the people I met have offered generous (and needed) advice without reservation on how to live like an islander. They’ve helped me with everything, from how to start a fire in my wood stove, where to park my car when it snows, and even information about the type of gear I’ll need when the real cold sets in.

Even when I decided not to travel out of state to see my family for Christmas, my advisors made sure I had somewhere to go and treated me like one of their own.

I had been a bit nervous about moving to a new community during a pandemic, especially considering my job is rooted in community integration and mobilization. The island, at first glance, can seem closed off to newcomers. Businesses are either closed for the winter or strictly offer curbside services. Yet there has been great joy in exploring and creating new ways we can still connect. I was able to fill the fall with outdoor events such as kids dance parties and sociallydistanced Halloween celebrations.

Now, the winter has become an exciting time of innovation: I have been working to create virtual painting nights, cooking nights over Zoom, group wellness classes, and outdoor events in the snow. Creating and coordinating programs for the recreation center means I am able to provide opportunities that allow for safety without sacrificing fun for community members, allowing us to be together and stay well.

Both loved ones and new acquaintances often wonder how I ended up on an island in Maine. How did I manage to find this opportunity, they ask, and why would I choose to come to such a remote corner of the world?

But as someone who tends to make unconventional choices, like pursuing an environmental studies degree, or becoming a Peace Corps volunteer, these are questions I have become accustomed to hearing.

I can answer them because I have been fortunate enough to enjoy the process of discovery, of learning about myself and these new places, of meeting incredible people amidst beautiful backdrops. Yet again, I feel as though I have stumbled into paradise.

There are a lot of ways that I am reminded of how lucky I am to live and work on Chebeague. Hearing from families who are glad to have more activities for their kids on the island, seeing kids dress up to go to the rec, and getting to know new islanders who are excited by any given new rec center event, remind me that my work is appreciated and important.

I get to stay in touch with the community through Chebeague’s

online forums and Facebook groups, where people are always sharing the latest photo they took of moon rises, snowstorms, and wildlife. Residents of Chebeague manage to find beauty in a place they have lived in and been looking at for years or even decades, equally as enamored today as they were when they first stepped off the ferry. With each shared photo, I feel as though I am right where I should be, and never will I take that for granted.

Kiran Grewal grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Bucknell University in 2019 with a degree in environmental studies and a minor in classics and ancient Mediterranean studies. She joined the Peace Corps as a health and HIV/AIDS Educator, and served in Zambia until being evacuated due to COVID-19. She is working with the Chebeague Island Recreation Center.

www.workingwaterfront.com . February/March 2021

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RESORT REVIVED— Many in the Midcoast and beyond have visited the Samoset Resort in Rockport, just north of the Rockland Breakwater. The sprawling hotel and restaurant complex, which also includes large event rooms, is the second version of the facility. The original Samoset was built in 1889 but destroyed by fire in 1972. The late Emmet Meara, a long-time Bangor Daily News reporter, used to tell the story of his early years in Maine when he worked as a stringer for the Boston Globe. He happened to be back in Boston in 1972 and stopped at the Globe’s office where an editor asked if anything newsworthy had happened in Maine. “Nope, not much,” was Meara’s reply. He later learned the Samoset had burned the night before.

Letters to the Editor Ocean solutions

Commoner connection

To the editor: In October, Democrats in the U.S. House introduced a sweeping and comprehensive bill to address aspects of the climate crisis by focusing on the ocean. The Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act (H.R. 8632) seeks to harness the ocean in the fight against climate change through seven related initiatives.

These include such provisions as reducing greenhouse gas emissions by prohibiting new oil and gas leasing in the outer continental shelf; setting offshore wind energy production goals of 12.5 gigawatts by 2025 and 25 gigawatts by 2030; increasing carbon storage in blue carbon ecosystems by mapping and protecting mangroves, sea grasses and salt marshes; offering incentives for increasing fuel efficiencies for fishing vessels; and authorizing $3 billion for shovelready coastal reclamation projects.

Other aspects of the legislation support climateready fisheries, fight ocean acidification, expand marine protected areas, and promote international cooperation on marine resource management. I urge you to contact Representative Jared Golden to support this bill, and to ask Susan Collins and Angus King to consider sponsoring similar legislation in the Senate. Representative Chellie Pingree has already endorsed H.R. 8632. Thoughtful solutions to our climate emergency are imperative.

— Bernie Baker Belfast

To the editor: Your November 2020 “Rock Bound” column entitled “Electric issues spark ownership thoughts—When should the public own public services” correctly defines the overwhelming existential threat of global warming and calls on your readers—particularly government officials—to respond with imaginative public/private solutions.

I note that you credit your own willingness to think “outside the box” to hearing Dr. Barry Commoner in 1980, when he spoke in New York about how the ownership of “public utilities” should indeed be overseen by the ratepayers themselves. Commoner was a gifted bio-chemist who applied his open minded, scientific approach to social and economic problems as well.

Island Institute Board of Trustees

Emily B. Lane, Chair Tom Tinsley Vice Chair Charles Owen Verrill, Jr. Secretary Douglas Henderson, Treasurer, Finance Chair Donna Wiegle, Programs Chair Kristin Howard, Philanthropy Chair Bryan Lewis, Governance Chair Michael P. Boyd, Clerk Sebastian Belle Shey Conover David Cousens Megan McGinnis Dayton Michael Felton Nathan Johnson Michael Sant Barbara Kinney Sweet Katherine Vogt Carol White John Bird (honorary) Louis W. Cabot (honorary)

The Working Waterfront accepts letters to the editor, which should contain about 300 words and relate to coastal and island issues or content that appeared in the newspaper. We also accept guest and op-ed columns of about 650 words, which should be cleared with editor Tom Groening (tgroening@islandinstitute. org) before submitting.

It turns out that I also heard Dr. Commoner address a New York audience in early 1980. It was at a political convention at the start of a presidential campaign that year. His message then had the same theme: that global problems will require a new magnitude and a fresh mix of both public and private responses.

Local municipalities are a good place to start. In 2016 the town of Islesboro chose to construct and to own its island-wide, high-speed, broadband internet service. Today nearly all residents are subscribers.

A town solar energy panel roof and a car-charging station have been recently installed at the town office.

And in 2019 a privately-funded Islesboro Economic Sustainability Corporation (IESC) was formed by town voters to assist projects that add to the future well-being of the community.

As a result, the island’s town center is being strengthened, and solar energy farms and solar-powered ferries to the mainland are under active study.

Economic enterprises have been encouraged and supported by bi-partisan government since the nation’s founding. In our lifetimes we have benefitted from the New Deal recovery program, by the G.I. Education Bill for returning service men and women, by the Eisenhower national highway system, through state university systems established over the past decades, and many, many local, state, regional, and national initiatives paid for and managed by imaginative combinations of public and private resources.

— Arch Gillies Islesboro

THE WORKING WATERFRONT

Published by the Island Institute, a non-profit organization that works to sustain Maine's island and coastal communities, and exchanges ideas and experiences to further the sustainability of communities here and elsewhere.

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The Working Waterfront . February/March 2021

Maine Maritime student honored by peers Dylan Bunker of Bucksport will serve as chief engineer

By Tom Groening

D

ylan Bunker explains his course of study at Maine Maritime Academy in much the way Goldilocks explained her taste in porridge.

There are three tracks for the marine engineering degree, the 22-yearold senior says. One is very much a hands-on discipline, one is rooted in the theoretical, and one has ties to both the practical and analytical.

That last track, the marine engineering technology major, is what suits Bunker.

“It teaches you the basics of marine engineering systems,” he says, and explains the design of systems that handle propulsion, pumps, electric, and hydraulics, so they can be analyzed and improved. But his classroom and shipboard education also has him getting his hands dirty maintaining and fixing these same systems.

When he graduates in May, Bunker hopes to “ship out” as an engineer.

Last summer, as part of an internship, he was aboard a Polar Tankers ship, a subsidiary of ConocoPhillips, traveling to Valdez, Alaska.

“Twice a month, they go up there and get oil,” he says. The ship then delivered its “Things break cargo to ports in Washington—Ferndale, March Point, and Cherry Point—as well as or wear out, terminals in San Francisco and Honolulu. and it’s your For a young man who grew up and went to high school in Bucksport, these ports of job to fix it…” call were alluring, he admits. And yes, he did get ashore to see the sights.

“Every time we got into port, the crew urged me to get off and explore,” he says.

“They’d give me $100 to get something to eat, get a haircut, have a good time.”

After graduating, would he pursue a job with that same shipping line?

“Absolutely,” he says.

Bunker sailed on Maine Maritime’s training vessel State of Maine in 2018 for a 72-day voyage.

www.workingwaterfront.com . February/March 2021

“We went to Spain, Rotterdam, Belgium, Lisbon, Italy,” he remembers. The training voyage is critical to a mariner’s education, Bunker explained. “Every freshman got to go down to the engine room, and every freshman got to stand a watch. It’s extremely valuable.”

Part of the value is dealing with the unexpected.

“A lot of things happen out of the blue,” he says. “Things break or wear out, and it’s your job to fix it, or prevent it, so it’s not inconvenient to fix it.”

Bunker chose to participate in what the academy calls regimental training, which imposes a military discipline to those cadets who choose this approach.

And he was recently elected by his peers as chief engineer.

“I run the cruise for the upcoming year,” he said, “making sure that the freshmen are all up to speed,” and working with the ship’s crew to ensure readiness. The voyage is tentatively scheduled for April to May. “It’s an honor,” he says of the chief engineer status.

Another honor bestowed is being named one of ten students to receive a Scheel Scholarship. Other Maine Maritime students from Maine’s coastal counties to receive scholarships are: • Ashley Porter of Cutler • Sawyer King of Appleton • Eric Mote of Blue Hill • Tyler Alley of Jonesport • Noah Caramihalis of York • Cassidee Lawrence of Perry

Bunker at work on the State of Maine.

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The Working Waterfront . February/March 2021

Good morning, Belfast!

PHOTO ESSAY BY JENNIFER THORBURN At the top of Penobscot Bay, this river port city catches the rising sun and the setting moon on its waterfront and red-brick downtown.

www.workingwaterfront.com . February/March 2021

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The Working Waterfront . February/March 2021

Our Island Communities RETURN TO SENDER: Island graduates get message in bottle Bottle made it to Gulf of Mexico, with a little help from a friend

The bottle with the letters it carried and the beach on Elmer’s Island where the bottle was found. PHOTOS COURTESY TIM FARRELLY

By Emilie Osgood

Trevaskis, a teacher at Vinalhaven School who is also from North Haven, because he heard the bottle might THE SENIOR CLASS of 2020 at Vinalhaven School contain letters from Vinalhaven students.

White would soon be shipping out to the Gulf of set adrift a message in a bottle as part of its graduation ceremonies last year. The idea came from Bianca Mexico and took the bottle with him to send it off to Barroso, the graduation coordinator. Due to the sea again.

“Their goal was for it to reach France or Europe,” pandemic, the class of 2020 missed out on some of Vinalhaven School’s traditional graduation activities said Bryan Feezor, assistant principal.

Although the bottle did not make it to Europe, it such as the Grand March. The message in a bottle was a unique way to make up for it and celebrate graduation. washed up on a beach on Elmer’s Island, La., in the The graduates wrote their own letters to go in the Gulf of Mexico and was found there by Gary and Connie Snyder on September bottle. None of the seniors saw 11. The Snyders’ daughter-ineach other’s message, just their law, Janelle Snyder, happens own. The letters were given to to be friends with Les and Barroso who put them in the “Their goal was for it to reach Theresa Penick who work at bottle.

Vinalhaven School this year.

The ceremony in which France or Europe.”

The Penicks came to the bottle was released was —BRYAN FEEZOR Vinalhaven last summer. supposed to be a parade Janelle Snyder learned about of lobster boats, but due to their move to Vinalhaven on worries of causing spectaFacebook and contacted the tors to gather, it turned into a group of boats tied together outside Carver’s Harbor. Penicks, letting them know about the bottle.

“We had no idea who sent it from Vinalhaven,” said The bottle was sent off June 14. Corey Lazaro, a senior from the class, along with Barroso and family, Theresa Penick. “We were excited, shocked, dumbwere on the lobster boat in charge of sending the bottle founded, and amazed!”

The bottle contained eight letters. off. At the end of the ceremony, as the other boats left, “One letter was written in French. We contacted Lazaro threw it overboard near Hurricane Island.

Originally, the bottle was found on the south side [French teacher] Susan Philbrook to see if her class of Burnt Island, near Boothbay Harbor, discovered sent it, but she said no,” said Les Penick. Les and

by Jerry White of North Haven. White told Bill Theresa emailed Philbrook on a Saturday, and by

Monday afternoon Feezor had told them the information he knew about the bottle.

“Gary was so excited when he found it! It was found so quickly,” said the Penicks. “One letter had a student’s email written on it, so they emailed them.”

The email on the letter belonged to 2020 graduate Tim Farrelly.

“On September 11 I got an email from a couple in Louisiana that they had found it washed ashore on a beach!” said Farrelly, via email. “They were very excited, especially to find that it had come all the way from Maine. I emailed them back with some context of how the merchant marine had taken it to the Gulf of Mexico, and just how thrilled I was that our bottle had arrived somewhere and that including my email in my message was worthwhile!”

Farrelly describes the concept of a message in a bottle as very appealing.

“To whoever receives it, it is extremely exciting and sort of romantic. To whoever is sending it, it is thrilling to imagine where it could end up, how far it would travel, who might see it, and how long it would take to discover.”

The class of 2020 enjoyed sending off their letters in a bottle, and the fact that it was discovered made it so much more exciting for them.

“I think that it is a really fun and unique tradition,” said Farrelly. “I would definitely recommend it to other classes in the future.”

Emilie Osgood is a sophomore at Vinalhaven High School.

www.workingwaterfront.com . February/March 2021

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In the classroom—

Island author inspires island students Writing process gathered student writers across islands

By Robin Chernow

W

e listened attentively as writer Anica Mrose Rissi read a chapter from an upcoming book. Everyone in the Zoom room was captivated—eyes widening during spooky parts, smiling and laughing during funny parts.

The Zoom room was populated by 5th-8th grade students from Maine’s outer island one-room schools on Monhegan, Frenchboro, Islesford, Great Cranberry, Cliff, and Isle au Haut islands, plus Cuttyhunk, Mass.

It was the first of six such meetings with Anica Mrose Rissi, a published author who grew up on Deer Isle.

The students had enrolled in WordCraft, a virtual six week writing program offered by Island Readers & Writers (IRW), a Mount Desert-based nonprofit.

Coming from one-room schools, the participating students do not have many—or, in some cases, any—agelevel peers at their own schools.

“It’s difficult for them to receive feedback from or be inspired by peers at their ability level,” said a teacher, whose school has just one middle schooler.

Participating in WordCraft was a welcome opportunity to collaborate with peers and hear other perspectives.

During that first WordCraft meeting, we all listened attentively as Rissi read excerpts of her work, from drafts in progress, to the Anna, Banana series

and The Teacher’s Pet. Rissi also and revision, our young authors shared provided relatable inspiration, telling their stories with the Outer Islands stories about her writing process, Teaching & Learning Collaborative, including what she does when getting reading their own work to peers and stuck or running out of fresh ideas (why younger students on other islands.

While listening to an 8th grade student not take a break and climb a tree?).

After the first meeting, students set read her story, “Lost at Sea,” one 2nd out on their assignments, curated by grade boy illustrated ocean scenes to the IRW team in the learning platform go along with it, proudly sharing his Moodle. Weekly writing prompts had work after the read-aloud.

The read-aloud audience also included different focus areas, from “Creating Unforgettable Characters” to “Building Douglas Cornman from the Maine Fantasy Worlds” to incorporating Seacoast Mission. Impressed with the students’ stories, Cornman encouraged dialogue, and more.

Each week culminated with students the students to submit their work to the submitting their writing for feedback Mission’s annual publication, The Island from Rissi, and that feedback became Reader.

“It’s always so much fun to listen to fodder for the next week’s Zoom call as students shared what they enjoyed what these kids are doing,” Cornman said.

The student and what was chalwriters also enjoyed lenging about the their WordCraft previous week’s After six weeks of experiences. work. Most students “I liked being started with one focused writing and able to create my story idea, editing revision, the young own world and and expanding it try to write it with throughout the six authors shared their someone else’s weeks, resulting in stories with peers… point of view,” said well-developed final 7th grader Gaby products.

Teague.

Alison Johnson, Her sister Isabelle Teague, a 5th who directs school programs for Island Readers & Writers, was impressed with grader, shared a similar sentiment.

“I liked being able to imagine a new how the student work developed.

“Reading their stories through IRW’s world, create characters, and most of WordCraft program and watching all, write.”

The larger peer network included their work progress was remarkable.”

After six weeks of focused writing six multiage one-room schools. The

program design helped teachers, freeing them to focus on teaching younger students while their older students were engaged in WordCraft sessions.

“This special time has made a big difference for my [students] not only academically, but socially,” said one teacher.

Another teacher noted that in one room schools, “Even if you have a couple of students at the same grade level, you’ve heard the same voice, offering feedback or suggestions, for multiple years.” The program allowed students to hear new perspectives on their work, both from peers and a published author.

Rissi speaks to the power of the group: “The opportunity to be part of a creative community is a gift for any writer, including me, and it was such a treat getting to meet with the island students—my fellow writers—to discuss the surprises, triumphs, and challenges we encountered on the page, share how we approached them, and learn from one another. Our weekly conversations about writing, revising, and storytelling left me invigorated and inspired. I was so impressed by the students’ openness, excitement, and creativity.”

Robin Chernow is a community development officer with the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront, who works with island and remote schools.

Coastal Briefs Delegation seeks action in Saco U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King and Rep. Chellie Pingree have written their support for the city of Saco in its bid to enter a project partnership agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers to address ongoing beach erosion at Camp Ellis in Saco. To date, 38 homes have been lost to erosion there, along with dunes, a railroad, and four streets.

The Army Corps has been working with Saco to find a solution to address erosion at Camp Ellis through part of the 1968 River and Harbor Act, which provides authority for the Corps to develop and construct projects for prevention or mitigation of damages caused by federal navigation work.

Boatbuilders show returns Every March since 1987, the Maine Boatbuilders Show has been on calendars of New England’s marine industry. Portland Yacht Services opened its doors to those who found the art and craft of messing around in boats a consuming passion.

The business was unable to host the show in Portland last year, but the pause required by the pandemic has offered the opportunity to bring it back this summer. To ensure a significant number of exhibitors, any exhibitor that paid a deposit for the 2020 Maine Boatbuilders Show will have the space they signed up for applied to the new 2021 event date.

DMR launches seafood branding The Maine Department of Marine Resources is launching a branding and promotion initiative to celebrate Maine seafood and help consumers find and enjoy it in the comfort and safety of their home.

While rapidly changing seafood markets due to the coronavirus pandemic have posed challenges for seafood producers, retail seafood sales are up 35 percent compared to last year, according to a market research company.

With $1 million of the $20 million CARES Act relief funds allocated by NOAA for Maine’s commercial fishing and seafood industry, the Maine seafood branding and promotion

initiative will help this growing population of home-bound seafood enthusiasts discover the superior taste, quality and variety of seafood from Maine.

“The Gulf of Maine’s cold, clean water is home to a wide variety of premium seafood products that are easy to prepare,” said DMR Commissioner Patrick Keliher. “The branding and promotion initiative will help consumers learn about, find, and prepare Maine seafood in their own kitchens.”

Blog posts from influential food writers will drive consumer appreciation and demand for Maine seafood.

Social media accounts will allow foodies across the world to connect around their shared love of Maine seafood.

For a directory of Maine Seafood suppliers and easy, inspiring, and delicious recipe inspiration visit www.SeafoodfromMaine.com.

Acadia proposes reservation fee The National Park Service is proposing to charge an expanded amenity fee to support the vehicle reservation system for the Cadillac Summit Road at Acadia National Park beginning in May. The total fee for each vehicle reservation

would be $6, with $4 allocated to park service operational and capital costs, and $2 allocated to administrative costs for Recreation.gov, the contracted online reservation service provider.

The park service is seeking public input on the proposed vehicle reservation fee. A 30-day public comment period will be open through Feb. 11.

Comments should be submitted at: parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome. cfm?projectID=99477 “The vehicle reservation fee is key to supporting the park staff and infrastructure,” said Acadia Superintendent Kevin Schneider. “Visitors accessing the Cadillac Summit Road during peak use times will benefit from having assurance that they will find parking and have a more enjoyable experience.”

The vehicle reservation fee for the Cadillac Summit Road is in addition to the park entrance fee. A valid park entrance pass is required for entry to the park while the vehicle reservation system allocates limited parking space on the Cadillac Summit Road during peak use times.

Vehicle reservations provide a timed entry, but do not require a departure time. Pedestrians and bicyclists do not require a reservation to access the Cadillac Summit Road.

16

The Working Waterfront . February/March 2021

Guest Column

My personal race story

How I learned I could no longer avoid the race question

By Yvonne Thomas

T

wenty-five years ago, I made a conscious choice to avoid the issue of race. And because I am a white woman, living in a majority white community, I had the privilege of making such a choice.

I had just earned my master’s degree in counseling, and had done my student counseling in two Boston area schools with populations that included brown, black, and white students. In that setting, I could clearly see the need to better understand race, diversity, and multiculturalism. But I was heading to work at an island school in Maine—Vinalhaven—and my students and colleagues there were almost all white. I told myself I didn’t need to study race issues in education or emphasize it in my school counseling practice—and I thought my students didn’t need to learn about or understand race either.

Yes, I’d participate in volunteer efforts in January around Martin Luther King Jr. Day and do readalouds of books by black authors in February as part of Black History Month, but that was about it.

As the school counselor, my main goal was to help students understand and value their identities, interests, and talents, and then assist them in developing and pursuing aligned post-secondary goals, whether it was going to college, lobstering, or something else.

can we continue to tell our students that the color of someone’s skin doesn’t matter, or that we should all just be nice, and try to get along, and treat everyone the same? I want our students to be able to effectively discuss and take action against all the -isms including racism. How will our students develop these skills if the adults in their lives don’t know how to talk to them about oppression in all its forms?

There are many frameworks for understanding systemic racism and other systems of inequity, and one that I have found to be especially helpful is called “The 4 I’s of Oppression”: ideological, institutional, interpersonal, and internal. I learned about this only a year ago at a conference. The workshop facilitator was reminding us of the concept, and I was getting a pit in my stomach. This was new to me. The pit in my stomach turned into full-on nausea when she announced that the next day we would be working on our personal race stories. I panicked. I was overwhelmed by my new knowledge and reluctant to tell my race story, but I am going to tell you the short version of it here.

MY RACE STORY

Yvonne Thomas and Mary Jackson.

PHOTO: COURTESY YVONNE THOMAS

I grew up in the South, very privileged, and I had two wonderful mother figures in my life. One was my white biological mom, and one was my black mom, Mary Jackson, who helped raise me and my siblings. schools were already providing critical leadership in In that conference, I didn’t know how to talk their small communities, and as the coronavirus hit about the lifelong connection of love in the spring—followed by heightened social unrest I shared with Mary Jackson, and I in the summer—their role became even more vital.

Our teachers expressed their desire to learn especially didn’t know how to explain it to the brown and black educators more about equity issues and their need for help in the room, who had a much deeper in addressing these issues at school and in the understanding of both their race community.

Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, we also and mine. At the same time, I could not deny my relationship with Mary saw grassroots efforts pop up on islands and in coastal Jackson, who was one of the most communities last summer, often led by young people.

And over the past few months, the Island Institute’s important and influential people in newspaper, The Working Waterfront, ran articles and my life.

That day was a turning point for me, opinion pieces addressing race.

All of this prompted us to design our conference to as I began to see how wrong it was to not find the courage to talk about race. help build on this courage—the courage of our rural It now gives me a pit in my stomach to educators, our youth, and all local leaders.

Brown, black, indigenous, Asian, Latinx—all think that I briefly considered denying the importance of, or even the exis- people of color—do not have a choice about whether they want to think or talk about race. And white tence of, Mary Jackson in my life.

The experience had broken my people no longer have that choice either. It is hard, belief that I don’t have to worry about because many white people, including me, have not race and set me on a learning journey. had nearly enough experience talking about race, Yvonne Thomas as an infant with Mary Jackson PHOTO: COURTESY YVONNE THOMAS The mental gymnastics I had been and we need to practice together so that we can get doing to justify turning my back on better at it.

It is essential that young people in addressing racism had our communities understand systemic I thought a lot about equity and access to opportu- become too uncomfortable, and I had racism and oppression and appreciate, nity. For example, I would plan college trips around to move. Now, I am on this seemingly celebrate, and embrace the diverthe students whose families did not have the capacity harder path, but I am energized by the I now understand sity that exists on our islands, in our learning and by taking action. to travel. country, and in our world. For many of The love and commitment that If I had wanted it to be “equal,” I would have simply that the system our students, school may be the best— taken all students on the same college trips. But I Mary Jackson and I shared was real, in which such a and maybe the only—place for this wanted equity, and I knew that while a few kids were and in so many ways it was good for learning to occur. traveling around visiting schools with their parents, both of us, both interpersonally and relationship could As rural educators, we have a moral other students were not leaving the island. So I prior- internally. And at the same time, I exist is horrible. imperative to do this work to ensure a now understand that the system in itized the students who needed my help the most. safer, more loving, and more sustainI understood and tried to act on the individual which such a relationship could exist able future for our students. That way, and systemic barriers to positive post-secondary is horrible. It is part of the social and someday, we may all live in anti-racist outcomes that were impacting my students—barriers economic aftermath of the ideology such as poverty, lack of access to mental health and and institution of slavery, and that truth is something communities and in a fair and just society. substance use disorder services, as well as gendered I can no longer hide from.

In planning the 2020 Island Teachers Conference and restrictive cultural norms. I was doing good work and making a difference. But I was not addressing we chose the phrase “striving for equity” to affirm the Yvonne Thomas is an education specialist at the fact that while we all want equity, it is a monumental Island Institute and works closely with island and race, and that was a problem.

The U.S. is projected to become majority-minority goal and we must never stop striving for it. coastal schools and education organizations. This The second part of our theme, “rural educators as story was originally presented during the opening by the middle of this century, and it is so full of racial tensions that even young children in our small island courageous leaders,” emphasizes the profound impor- remarks for the 2020 Island Teachers Conference on and coastal communities are aware of them. How tance of the role of our teachers. Rural educators and Oct. 8, 2020.

www.workingwaterfront.com . February/March 2021

17

World Ocean Observatory Designing the Places where you want to be.

Rethinking insurance as investment, not pay-out Premiums might be directed toward mitigation

For your legacy home

By Peter Neill IF INVESTMENT IS RISK, then insurance is a means by which to diminish the damage from unforeseen events, liability, and damage to come. And then there is re-insurance, the insuring of the insurers so that they, too, have coverage to mitigate further the consequence of claims to be paid.

It seems complicated, and consumer understanding of insurance is a challenge, a surfeit of fine print we don’t often read until an accident forces the application of terms and payments upon us in the context of distress and need.

But, actuarily, insurance is a simple equation: consumers pay premiums to companies that hold and invest those funds profitably until an untoward, actual event demands payments of claims, usually cumulatively, less payment outflow than premium inflow, generating profit for the company and its shareholders.

The risk is further diminished by those companies insuring their risk in a similar exchange with the re-insurers and, in some cases, through government subsidies and reimbursements. Thus, it can be argued that insurance investment is no risk at all.

The whole system is based on recovery or restoration from the consequence of risk and has become an integral part of protection against the probability of unforeseen challenges to personal health and injury, workplace compensation, property destruction, and liability claims that are adjudicated with penalties, or often settled, through lawyers or courts.

We are required to purchase insurance, by law or by a need to avoid financial disaster by tort, legally defined as “an act or omission that gives rise to injury or harm to another and amounts to a civil wrong for which courts impose liability.”

In the United States, we live in a “tort storm” of claims, an integral part of our social/financial culture managed and sustained by a for-profit industry.

Let’s take an ocean example. If you live on the coast, or inland in a floodplain, you are vulnerable to wind, rain, and wave from powerful storms alongshore. If your home is directly on the beach, you have coverage through the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, the notorious FEMA which manages evacuations and protections and provides governmentsubsidized insurance coverage for rebuilding. U.S. taxpayers underwrite those costs over and above whatever coverage the homeowner may have.

In some cases, areas and individual properties have been restored several times over in the same locale by this federal insurance program.

Is it possible to conceive insurance another way?

Instead of event restoration, could insurance be designed around risk prevention, where premiums are invested in systems that anticipate certain conditions in advance and finance protections that obviate the predictable damage, reduce disruption, and aggregate to larger strategies that reduce the overall cost of serial events?

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For example, FEMA has mandated that waterfront homes destroyed by storms be reconstructed at floor levels higher than historical or anticipated storm level rise, to apply such protections before rather than after the event.

Could such requirements be built into zoning and building codes for vulnerable areas?

Could bank loans be approved only when such risk protections are built into home or business loans? Could funds be directed to infrastructure improvements in areas of high risk that will adapt more effectively to anticipated conditions—erosion protection, drainage directions, catchment basins, raised bridges and roads, restoration of natural shoreline barriers—all proven defenses paid for in advance of the cost of any single event or more financially recurring, debilitating events in the same area?

Could insurance companies invest their premiums in novel financial instruments— stocks and mutual funds, bonds and venture technologies and products—with climatemitigating goods and services? Could those companies become agents of change, maintaining their essential purpose, not only through retro-action, but also pro-action that prevents or diminishes more predictable, destructive, and expensive outcomes?

Insurance companies are solid, stolid, and fixed in their construct and behavior. The industry has worked well for many years of quiet profit, but like all such institutions these days, they are at risk through complacency and sufficiency and convention. Why would a re-insurer allow that to endure? What happens when events insured become so constant and devastating that there is no profit after all? Why would government accept such uncertainty and mandate response as, yes, an insurance policy against failed insurance? Why risk it?

Peter Neill is director of the World Ocean Observatory, which produces weekly radio essays aired on WERU-FM, 89.9, on podcast at apple.com/us/podcast/worldocean-radio/id425361249, and at wwwworldoceanobservatory.org/worldocean-radio. He lives in Sedgwick.

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The Working Waterfront . February/March 2021

Saltwater Cure

Cold water is the tonic for suspended life New year brings a return to the sea

By Courtney Naliboff IT’S WINTER. This time of year usually feels like an extended denouement following the climax of Labor Day weekend, Indigenous People’s Day, and “the holidays,” meaning the blur of Thanksgiving, Chanukah, Christmas, and New Year’s. But this year, it’s more of the same.

We’ve been quietly isolated for months, especially since the late fall outbreak that shook us and reaffirmed the need for masking, distancing, and a complete lack of indoor, unmasked socialization.

With a sense of so much loss—of trust in elected officials, of connection to friends and family, of the preservation of traditions—I found it useful to take stock of what we still have.

We still have each other, even though it can be a little more effort and a little less reward to connect via Zoom to light the Chanukah candles or decorate the tree. We still have the school, and our mission to educate students and

Most constantly, we still have the fulfill their social needs is more imporocean. The winter ocean feels a little more tant than ever.

We still have our creative lives. fickle than the summer waters, leaving We watched and were charmed by sheets of ice in its wake as it recedes at low tide over the mud Waterman’s Zoom flats and roiling with reading of “A Child’s storms. But there it is, Christmas in Wales” on There it is, sparkling sparkling in the sun, the solstice, and we’ve in the sun, or flat or flat and gray, swaljust started rehearsals lowing snowflakes as for our entry into the and gray, swallowing they fall. And where virtual one-acts festival snowflakes as they fall. there’s an ocean, there this March. are swimmers.

My band released A small group of us a single and will be playing another show via Zoom later in suited up recently, squeezing into several January. We had our first practice since millimeters of neoprene wetsuits, hoods, Halloween recently and singing with boots, and gloves to experience the Mill a mask isn’t as terrible as I thought it Stream in winter. Unexpectedly, it had frozen over for about 50 feet from the might be.

Bill and Penrose got me a new iPad causeway to the first crook.

It wasn’t the superficial skin ice I had for Christmas (my old one was about as old as my daughter, and not nearly as assumed it to be, either—we found functional), and with it an Apple Pencil, ourselves crashing through about a and it’s inspired me to draw every day. centimeter of coverage, leaving sharpIt’s not something I do well at all, but edged shards in our wake. The trick that doesn’t take away from my enjoy- was to let your torso be the icebreaker, we realized. It was tiring, but also a ment of it in the slightest.

wholly new experience for all three of us, and the ease of open water was twice as thrilling as a result.

There was a slight chop on the water as we set out, but it abated as we approached the bridge. One swimmer, who had also done a cold-water immersion that morning, and a long walk, hopped out a little early and met us at the car.

But my other friend and I persevered.

It felt long, and a bit of a slog, compared to warmer swims. But it also helped to quell the sense of timelessness that has dogged me since last March. We started at point A, and swam to point B. It took a predictable amount of time. We accomplished something and reminded ourselves that for all we’re missing right now, there is much that we still have.

Courtney Naliboff teaches, plays music, and lives on North Haven.

Journal of an Island Kitchen

We’re ready for pandemic 2.0 How to deal, when the expected is capsized

By Sandy Oliver

examples of how to live well and sanely when the expected is capsized.

So you have your sourdough, a Surely by now we have figured out that 2021 isn’t going to be all that supply of toilet paper, and you don’t different from 2020. On New Year’s miss a sports bar to hang out at because Eve, lots of us bid a joyous farewell there wasn’t one to begin with. Perhaps to 2020, hopefully cheering at the you had a garden last year (or maybe prospect of a new year. Six days later, for decades before that) and learned we learned we were breaking nearly how to can, having stocked up on jars daily records for COVID-19 cases and lids. Maybe you started a food and deaths and damn near broke our pantry in case your island didn’t have one already. democracy to boot.

We have our core skills nailed down.

It’s Pandemic 2.0 with a more contagious strain of COVID on the loose, a A young friend of mine says, “It’s time to skill up and reach slower than hoped for out.” If modern society vaccine roll out, and and the economy have many restless, angry I suspect islanders turned ordinary profisouls frustrated with their lives. (and rural dwellers) are ciencies and talents into commodities, and We know how to better at this sort of buying them back is get through this. our default mode, then Maine did it late last thing than most… it hurts when they are winter and spring, yanked from us. and harvested a What if you can’t decent summer with a low rate of infection and, together buy dinner and take it home? On with Vermont, a better than average islands there are lots of good home economy than most of the rest of the cooks because there aren’t lots of nation. And, I suspect, islanders (and restaurants. Never mind prepared rural dwellers) are better at this sort of food, what would happen if all our thing than most because we are good at phones went dead and we lost our preparing for when a ferry doesn’t run, primary source of amusement? What if the power goes out, when there are we had to read books in print instead of scarcities. We are really good at helping listening to them? What if we couldn’t each other out. We offer dozens of watch the late-night comedians skewer

our sacred cows? What if we wrote our own jokes and retold old favorites?

(A lobsterman, plumber, and pastor walked into the island market and…)

What if we spend Pandemic 2.0 learning to play an instrument or memorizing sea chanties, Beatles tunes, or hymns, or writing our own songs? Or learning to watercolor? Or pursue the time-honored craft of whittling? All my favorite wooden kitchen utensils are handmade to my specifications; the average wooden spoon in a department store is too clunky.

Mending socks? Making socks?

Tying flies? Making nets like we used to do? Relearning how to fish, hunt, and butcher meat? Lots more hunting and fishing licenses being acquired, apparently, this past year, and a good thing; just think wild, lean, organic meat and seafood.

Personally, I need to learn seed saving and how to sew my clothes, something several of the 20-somethings in my life already know how to do. Then I could replace the clothes in my closet that come from Peru, China, El Salvador, and Cambodia, all purchased, by the way from L.L. Bean.

Of course, nobody’s going to be totally self-sufficent. Tell you what, I’ll make you the thickest, warmest pair of wool socks you ever owned, and throw in mending them in

exchange for changing the oil in my car twice a year or showing me how to download a pdf for printing without colossal frustration.

And here is the beauty part. None of this can be off-shored. Except maybe to the mainland. As a neighbor pointed out, the ferry goes both ways.

I want a fish market; I don’t need another souvenir shop and don’t give a damn if one goes under in a COVID-induced downturn; American entrepreneurs excel at thinking up something else to do.

Local food, local socks. Local jokes, local venison. We wanted cheap and sent our jobs out of the country. I’m not flag waving here, but didn’t it occur to someone that if they always shopped for the cheapest possible thing they’d end up without work? We’ve given our talents away and made Jeff Bezos rich.

Turn off our devices for a day. Swop recipes. Plot gardens. Believe in our own exceptional abilities to make better lives for ourselves and communities.

Skill up, reach out, keep it local. It’s what islanders are really good at doing, and have been all along.

Sandy Oliver gardens, cooks, and writes on Islesboro.

www.workingwaterfront.com . February/March 2021

19

Guest Column

Because Maine can’t wait to confront climate change Maine Climate Council proposes bold proposals to reverse warming

By Janet Mills IN THE FALL OF 1970, 11-year-old Suzanne Clune wrote a letter to her U.S. senator. She lived on the banks of the Little Androscoggin River, a oncepristine tributary where deer could see their reflection when drinking from the water and where spring pine and chokeberry blossoms “filled the air with the sweetest smell on earth.”

That was before toxic chemicals polluted the waters and before noxious waste formed swells of thick, discolored foam that ran downstream and coated the river banks. “Now in any season,” Suzanne wrote to Sen. Edmund Muskie, “you can smell the most sickening smell on earth, a stench that left frogs ‘gasping for air.’ I am sick of the river like this.

Please do something about it.”

She signed her letter, “One who loves Maine.”

Suzanne’s letter sparked Muskie’s career-long fight for clean air and clean water. Today, as a result of his actions, the Little Androscoggin River is restored as a pristine waterway, like the Androscoggin, the Kennebec, and the Penobscot rivers—places where we now fish and sail and swim, places we love.

I am grateful Suzanne did not wait to act. Before us now is another threat—one that jeopardizes not only Maine’s natural resources but our state’s economic and social wellbeing, too.

From our rocky coast to the western foothills, our pine tree forests, our bountiful farmland, and the people and

creatures of all kinds who call these warnings of scientists who tell us we places home, the climate crisis poses a cannot delay reducing carbon emissions to stem climate impacts, or preparing direct and immediate threat.

When I think about the current our communities to withstand extreme crisis, I think about Suzanne. I think weather events, flooding, and warming about Sens. Muskie, George Mitchell, that climate change is causing.

Maine can’t wait to improve the Bill Cohen, former legislators like Harry Richardson, Hoddy Hildreth, lives of Maine people through climate and Sherry Huber—environmental action: weatherizing homes and champions bound not by ideology or installing heat pumps to provide both political party but by a shared commit- comfort and savings; improving transment to preserve and protect our cher- portation options; increasing access to broadband; and creating greater energy ished home, Maine.

I think of Maine’s indigenous people efficiency to lower the maintenance and costs of our homes, cars, whose longtime stewbuses, and businesses. ardship and connection Maine can’t wait to to the land is threatened strengthen our economy by global warming. I Maine can’t wait by investing in renewablethink of Pope Francis, energy infrastructure and who requested an interto stem the loss providing good-paying national conversation of more than jobs in clean energy and about the future of energy efficiency. Maine the planet, a conversa$4 billion a year can’t wait to stem the loss tion “which includes which we send to of more than $4 billion everyone, since the environmental challenge we out-of-state fossil- a year which we send to out-of-state fossil-fuel are undergoing, and its fuel companies… companies every year, human roots, concern and instead keep that and affect us all.” money here at home and I think of our chiltransition to homegrown dren and grandchildren and of generations yet to come. With clean and renewable energy to power this crisis on our doorstep, we—like our homes, fight climate change, and Suzanne Clune—can’t wait. We must move us toward energy independence.

Maine won’t wait to protect our act now to preserve our state for our children and grandchildren to enjoy as natural resources and the industries we do, and to build a thriving economy that depend on them—forest prodwith opportunities for growth far into ucts, agriculture, fishing and aquathe future. Maine can’t wait to heed the culture—and support efforts to fight

climate change while innovating and expanding our workforce. Most of all, Maine can’t wait to make the most of this extraordinary moment in time.

This plan comes in the midst of an unprecedented pandemic which has caused significant economic and social turmoil. It might be easier to put off climate action until calmer times. But Maine can’t wait. Maine shouldn’t wait.

And Maine won’t wait. The opportunity for a brighter, sustainable future is here and now. And the need is greater than ever before.

As governor, I propose we more than double the number of clean-energy and energy-efficiency jobs by 2030. These 30,000 jobs will fight climate change while providing new opportunities to Maine working men and women and advancing long-term prosperity for our state.

I will submit bold legislation and proposals for public and private investment. We will seek federal officials as partners and keep a steady focus on our progress. Eleven-year-old Suzanne Clune’s letter to Sen. Muskie 50 years ago was a call to action of that era. Let this plan be today’s call to action—once again to protect the natural beauty of our state, to improve the lives of our families and the livelihoods of our people, and to ward off future natural disasters and economic crises. Because, like Suzanne, we too are “ones who love Maine,” and we must do our best to preserve and protect it.

Janet Mills is the governor of Maine.

Story behind photo To the editor: Sigma Kappa is the woman’s sorority that helps support the Maine Seacoast Mission’s Sunbeam (photo in the December/January issue). As a member of another college sorority, I remember seeing the Sunbeam around Boothbay Harbor and being impressed with Sigma Kappa’s “Living with heart.” Does this group of women still support this wonderful boat?

Thank you for the memory your pictures evoked.

—Sally Jones Salisbury, N.H. Re: the Sunbeam photo: Sigma Kappa was my sorority when I went to Colby College in Waterville in the ‘60s. I would say this is a Colby group doing some kind of charity project, probably in the 1940 or 1950s. I don’t think there was another Sigma Kappa chapter in Maine. The “living with heart” comment comes somewhat close to our charity motto. No idea what harbor is pictured.

—Chicki Barnes Phippsburg

20

The Working Waterfront . February/March 2021

Field Notes

Virus to vaccine, island-specific works best Island communities share resources, but find their own plans

By Karen Burns AS A RESIDENT OF Vinalhaven, I have had family and friends from across the country and world reach out during the last nine months to ask about my island’s experience with COVID-19. People were curious: What is the “island experience”? When is an island the best place to be? Can you get COVID tests? How do you social distance in such a small place? Is there enough toilet paper?

What is easy to forget in these conversations is how different the island experience is for everyone. There is no universal Maine island experience in any situation, let alone in a pandemic.

Maine’s year-round island communities range in population from a few dozen residents to over 1,100. Although no islands have hospitals or ICU beds, Vinalhaven has a medical facility with on-call staff, behavioral health, and dental services. Services on the other islands vary from small health centers, to a few dedicated EMTs, to no service at all.

Vinalhaven Island’s Carvers Harbor Market did a remarkable job keeping the shelves stocked and customers served for the duration of the pandemic so far, including toilet paper, while other islands without stores have struggled with access to fresh food.

Despite these differences, a few boards and town managers, many who themes emerged when I reached out work part time or volunteer, have been to friends and colleagues to learn more forced to make monumental, and often about their island pandemic experi- unpopular decisions.

Yet when faced with these unprecence. The first was a feeling of security, edented challenges, independent even if that sense is false.

Cheryl Crowley, an EMT on Cliff islands have needed to rely more Island, talked about feeling a sense of on other islands and neighboring control of how much exposure one has. community partners.

On Cliff Island in On small islands, it is Casco Bay, where normal to live interthere is not a health acting with only a center, residents handful of people.

On each island there were able to use Donna Wiegle, the is a tension between resources from local health officer on nearby Long Island’s Swan’s Island, talked our independence and wellness center to about how easy it is dependence on others. obtain rapid tests. to believe the virus Having the tests won’t come to your available on island community because means sick residents you know everyone, didn’t have to take a ferry to Portland and “would know” if someone is sick.

Though it is comforting, both said and risk exposing others.

Swan’s Island’s Mill Pond Health this sense of security is also dangerous because people are more likely to not Center developed contact tracing protocols based on experiences and be cautious.

On each island there is a tension resources shared by the island of between our independence and depen- North Haven, which had developed an dence on others. As the pandemic effective plan after an outbreak there. unfolded, each island community Logistics on islands are always complideveloped its own guidelines for resi- cated. Testing and possible vaccidents and visitors, taking into account nation programs only increase the the unique transportation challenges complexity. The Island Institute was and ability to be self-sufficient. Select recently involved in an effort to get

COVID tests out to communities. The challenges of temperature regulation, adequate storage, and infrastructure to qualify for tests made each island’s effort unique and challenging.

In looking ahead, questions remain about maintaining the temperature of the vaccine and the risks for patients leaving islands to be vaccinated.

Although there are no clear answers, the islanders I spoke with seemed hopeful that island-specific solutions might be developed.

Like the rest of the world, those of us living the “island experience” of COVID-19 aren’t sure what’s coming next. Will we be able to welcome back seasonal residents and visitors without restrictions next summer? What new challenge will come to our community?

What we do know is that islanders must continue to rely on each other. And we value our relationships with those who care deeply about where we live to define our post-pandemic normal.

Karen Burns is chief leadership officer at the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront.

Observer

A 50-year journey through the mind Time passages, love lost, and island comparisons

By Phil Crossman ON OCTOBER 9, 2009, although not despondent, I stood on the Dyer Island Bridge, staring into the modest abyss below and torn between stepping off or returning home. After a while I did; I stepped off.

Vinalhaven is the largest island in Maine’s Penobscot Bay, surrounded by bits of ledge and dozens of smaller islands. Four of the latter are bridged to the mother island, as it were, not unlike four pets, each on a leash perhaps, and Dyer Island is the smallest of those.

Fifty years earlier, 1959, September, I’d sat in the same spot consumed by the sweet anguish that is the agreeable companion of adolescence. It was the day after Labor Day and Karen, a summer girl and the first serious object of my affections, had just left her July/ August lodgings here on Vinalhaven and returned home to Massachusetts.

Before leaving she suggested we see others during the coming school year, an exercise she said would illuminate and freshen our relationship, give it context, and make it easier to assess our feelings when she returned the next summer.

She often employed such transcendent intellect and the resulting assessments left me nodding in apparent acquiescence when in fact I was stupefied. On this occasion I was no less and only knew this was not the promissory parting I’d hoped for. Rather, I was consumed by the image of betterlooking guys back in Massachusetts, guys who could dance effortlessly and who could make-out without biting her lip or otherwise inflicting injury.

Despondent, I sat, that day, in my Dad’s old pickup, wallowing in angst.

In the ocean water below I saw a school of minnows trying but failing to breach the current. I felt their hopelessness.

On this day, fifty years later however, I’d just returned from some business on Dyer Island and stopped on its side of the little single-lane bridge to let an oncoming vehicle come across. While I waited, I remembered that anguish and recalled that I was parked then in precisely the same spot I found myself now.

After the other car passed, I tried to comprehend that 50 years had gone by.

I couldn’t. I still can’t today.

I don’t understand how the passage of that much time can go un-noticed.

I’ve seen other lives run their course and expire but never thought seriously mine would be one of them. I have simply not reconciled myself to aging.

I looked down at my right wrist where, in 1963, Karen and I having lasted longer than I’d once thought possible, I’d ill-advisedly had her name tattooed there one night after boot camp. It is a lovely tribute to that early romance, her name wafting on a banner held aloft by an eagle and is a particularly nice touch each time I extend my arm across the dinner table to accompany an expression of affection to my wife. Unable to get my mind wrapped around that much time having simply passed away, I retreated to the present.

This, the Dyer Island Bridge, is one of eight bridges on Vinalhaven. It’s made of granite, of course, as are (or were initially) the other seven. A demand for Vinalhaven’s particular pinkish grey granite drove a tremendous quarrying industry here in the hundred years following the 1820s.

During that time, Vinalhaven supplied stone for mansions and monuments and government buildings all over the United States. The island also

provided structural granite, including stone used to construct Civil War gun platforms during that conflict and, in New York City, the massive columns for the nave in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine as well as much of the stone supporting the Brooklyn Bridge.

Having singled out New York, there exist these interesting asides. Each island comprises about 23 square miles and each has eight bridges.

These similarities notwithstanding, there’s no denying some distinctions. We harvest a more appealing lobster here in the clear, cold waters of Penobscot Bay than can be found in the East River. We can always find a place to park and we all wave to one another and to visitors more frequently and with more fingers than New Yorkers do.

Phil Crossman lives on Vinalhaven.

www.workingwaterfront.com . February/March 2021

21

Cranberry Report

Making the case for ‘reverse take-out’ Island neighborliness takes on a foodie flavor

By Barbara Fernald

topics our editor gently asked us said. Bruce and I burst out laughing to avoid, if possible, when we last at the speed with which his wish had ONE OF THE FIRST things I do in submitted columns in November. That been granted. Cindy was delighted that January is to pull out the new “Maine request seems implausible during these her generosity had such perfect timing.

Tide and Every Day Calendar” and bleak and anxious days of early January. We immediately crowned her our Cake mark the dates for anniversaries and But if there ever was a time to lift each Fairy, and do you know what? She takes birthdays from the past year. When I get other up, we are in it, and maybe that’s the job very seriously!

Now, at unpredictable times, the to July and August of the previous year, what wise Tom wants me to realize as I it’s sometimes hard to find the special consider a topic during this craziest of bread or English muffin fairy visits David and Cindy. Our personal cake days I seek. They are wedged in tight times.

I have a true story of magic that fairy is also known to deliver pie. We with names and times for dinners, local cultural events, picnics, hiking, doctor’s happens not often, but more than rarely, have a similar relationship with Mary appointments, and visits from family. in my little neighborhood on Little and Malcolm across the street. Mary When I look back on those weeks I Cranberry Island. It began a few years is an amazing baker and we often exchange half loaves usually smile at the memories while ago, one night after of our latest breads. simultaneously appreciating the intense dinner, when Bruce Oscar, next door to turned to me and said, quiet that is January on the island.

I’m thinking of ways them, distributes the This month there were many fewer “I wish we had some to expand this magic most amazing tamales occasions to reminisce about from last cake.” at random times.

Anyone who knows year’s calendar, but we were fortunate through these next During the holidays to have had August visits from both Bruce knows he loves few solitary months. the food fairies were of our sons and their families. I miss cake, but we hadn’t had out in force. We gave them terribly, but I feel hopeful that cake in the house for a out cinnamon buns things are on their way to getting better. while. Not two minutes Knowing that I’m in the age group to after he spoke those words, there was a and received Chex mix, cookies, chocget a vaccine sooner rather than later knock on the door. Our neighbor Cindy olate-dipped strawberries and pretzels is a help. So is knowing that the worst Thomas was at the door with a plate and more. One day I looked out in time to see our neighbor, Joanne, tiptoeing president in the history of our country bearing two pieces of chocolate cake.

“I made a cake today and I thought away after leaving a plate of strawwill be leaving the White House soon.

The pandemic and politics are two you might like some for dessert,” she berry-rhubarb turnovers on our porch.

I’m thinking of ways to expand this magic through these next few solitary months. The possibilities are endless.

Who wouldn’t want a nice bowl of fruit salad showing up unexpectedly at 5 p.m.? Or a pot of chili? Or a jar of sprouted alfalfa seeds?

We may not be having dinner parties these days, but we could still entertain each other by showing up with something that comes from the heart and hearth. Like reverse take-out.

The magic comes from making it a surprise. By lifting each other up, even the tiniest bit, we lift ourselves up as well. Try to feel depressed about the state of the world when you’re delivering warm chocolate chip cookies to a friend or neighbor. I think it might be impossible. And, who knows? You might just be crowned someone’s cookie fairy. Nothing is more uplifting than magic like that.

Barbara Fernald lives on Islesford (Little Cranberry Island).

Fathoming

A carbon sense solution

Kelp may held balance the release, sequestration of carbon

By Lisa Millette

PERHAPS YOU learned it in high school biology class. In the chapter covering the carbon cycle: Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most commonly produced greenhouse gas and the excess amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is warming the planet and shifting weather systems.

Then, at least for me, the chapter in the textbook was over. We moved on to the next lesson.

We now live in a new world, one in which we see the devastating effects of climate change in rising seas and ferocious wildfires. We also are living through times of determination and innovation—where we acknowledge our part in climate change and look to technologies and collaboration to rebalance the carbon cycle.

In Maine, research is underway to measure and test carbon sequestration in kelp. But how is atmospheric CO2 naturally captured? Once sunk, how does it reduce carbon in the atmosphere long term?

Let’s start with a biology refresher.

CO2 is captured in plants during photosynthesis. With sunlight and water, plants transform it into complex carbohydrates. When humans, animals, bacteria, and fungi consume plant

matter, the CO2 is released back into the atmosphere through respiration and decomposition.

But plant matter that does not get consumed or broken-down holds onto the carbon dioxide; it is sequestered.

Oil and coal are just million-years old sequestered plants. As we burn them, more CO2 is released into the air than can be recycled through today’s carbon cycle. We’ve offset the balance and tipped the carbon scales.

Things continue to get off balance as the Earth’s forests diminish. In the Eastern United States alone, 8.9 percent of land use has changed primarily by demands for forest products and increased urban development (measured between 1992 and 2005).

We must, then, consider our deep ocean waters and their vast long-term storage capacity. After all, the earth is 70 percent ocean.

Oceans2050, an ocean restoration organization cofounded by Alexandra Cousteau and Fritz Newmeyer, recently kicked off a global study led

by Carlos Duarte to quantify carbon sequestration beneath edible seaweed farms. Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, the University of Maine, Atlantic Sea Farms, Bang’s Island Mussels, and the Island Institute are partnering to include sediment cores

from beneath Maine’s longest standing kelp farm off Chebeague Island.

Data from 19 kelp farms across 12 countries will be analyzed to determine rates of carbon sequestration and potentially validate and monetize the carbon sequestration impact of seaweed farming.

With an investment from Shopify’s Sustainability Fund, Running Tide, a startup growing oysters and kelp in the Midcoast, plans to grow and sink kelp offshore with the sole purpose of capturing atmospheric CO2.

“Our initial goal is to establish a base of research for our system,” said founder Marty Odlin. “This work is being done in the winter months to minimize disruption. It could not be more important work for the health of the ocean, and hopefully we can generate good data not only for ourselves, but for the state, which is the nation’s leader in kelp aquaculture,” she said.

“The ‘silver bullet’ potential for both our climate and working waterfront is very tangible—millions of tons of sequestered carbon and thousands of jobs created—if we can scale to meet the challenge,” Odlin added.

As innovative as these projects are, they can’t rebalance the scales of CO2 and foster healthy ocean ecosystems alone. Carbon sequestration through

natural processes and innovative carbon capture systems must be paired with lessening carbon emissions.

In December, Gov. Janet Mills and the Maine Climate Council released “Maine Won’t Wait,” the state’s climate action plan. The plan lays the groundwork for moving away from using energy from fossil fuels, which continue to release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, to using renewable energy sources while protecting vulnerable communities and the economic sectors most at risk from climate change. As Mainers, we have the opportunity to engage with our state’s plan from the cars we drive and the items we buy to where we show up and pitch in at work and in our communities. We can be inspired by innovative leaders such as Oceans2050 and Running Tide and look even closer, to ourselves, our families and neighbors, to save the quintessential working waterfronts and the Maine coast we call home.

Lisa Millette is a community development officer with the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront, working on the marine economy, climate and energy, and small business.

22

The Working Waterfront . February/March 2021

A history of Maine, wrapped in a warm quilt Quilt dating to the Civil War returned home

By Wanda Curtis

Q

LaBar is the author of Maine Quilts: 250 Years of uilting has been a favorite pastime in Maine Comfort and Community.

One Civil War quilt in the museum’s collection was for centuries, first to provide warm coverings on cold winter nights, then rapidly evolving made by Portland neighbors Carrie Davis and Cornelia into a popular hobby for individuals and community Dow, with the help of friends, including several young groups. Women (and sometimes men) gathered for women who attended Portland’s Home Institute. quilting bees to work on projects. Quilting bees also Others were from communities outside Portland.

“One hailed from provided opportunities for Matanzas, Cuba and her socialization and catching presence in Portland up on the latest news. reflects the thriving Historians say quilts can While many Civil War quilts were trade between Maine reveal much about the time in which they were distributed to hospitals for bedding, lumbermen and the sugar made. Laureen LaBar, others were sent to the battlefront producers of the Caribbean islands,” said LaBar. chief curator of history to encourage the soldiers.

Davis and Dow distriband decorative arts at the uted red and blue stars, Maine State Museum, said along with white backat least half of its collection ground fabric, to their of 180 quilts date to the late 1800s when textile mills were built to produce cotton, friends. Each woman designed a block with popular making it more affordable. Prior to the Civil War, sayings, quotations, and artwork, then backed, quilted, and bound each individual block before Maine quilts were usually made from wool.

“Quilts reflect the times they were made,” she said. joining them together. Today that quilt style is “If fabric is expensive, you don’t see a lot of quilts, referred to as a “potholder quilt” because each indiand the quilts that you do see generally don’t have vidual square resembles a potholder.

Many of the patriotic verses on the Portland quilt much variety in the number of fabrics used. With few exceptions, the earliest Maine quilts use only a were authored by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow whose childhood home was near Cornelia Dow’s few fabrics, because fabrics were expensive then.”

During the Civil War many women belonged to house. One can learn about the Civil War home church or social groups which mobilized to produce front, women’s education in Maine, trade, and social socks, bandages, and quilts for military hospitals, networks from the blocks, LaBar said. Some of the LaBar said. Other groups made quilts for fundraisers. squares featured newly published poetry, revealing

that educated Maine women were aware of the literature of the day, she said.

BATTLEFIELD BEDDING

While many Civil War quilts were distributed to hospitals for bedding, others were sent to the battlefront to encourage the soldiers, called “inspirational” or “signature quilts.”

The Belfast Ladies Volunteer Aid Society made an inspirational quilt for Maine soldiers in 1864. It had a large American flag in the center. The quilt squares surrounding the flag were inscribed with names of the women who made the quilt, Bible verses, patriotic sayings, and poetry.

“This was a truly remarkable time period for both men and women from Belfast,” said Megan Pinette, Belfast Historical Society president and curator at the Belfast Museum. “Men were suddenly soldiers preparing for war and the women were setting to work sewing uniforms and quilts, baking, and canning in order to support the Union troops.”

The Belfast quilt was shipped to a military hospital in the nation’s capitol where it remained on display, with words of encouragement for the soldiers, for about a year, Pinette said. The hospital closed in 1865 and the whereabouts of the quilt was unknown for almost 150 years. Then in 2011, Pinette received a phone call from a Montana woman reporting she had discovered a rolled up flag quilt in her late mother’s home. The phrase “Belfast, Maine, June 17, 1864” was inscribed on the quilt.

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Megan Smith Pinette, president of the Belfast Historical Society and Museum poses with the 1864 Belfast Civil War quilt. PHOTO: TOM GROENING

It’s been speculated, said Pinette, that the quilt was given to the hospital’s chief surgeon Dr. D.W. Bliss when the hospital closed and it remained in his family for several generations. (Bliss was involved in the medical care of President James Garfield after he was shot.)

The quilt was once headed for the burn barrel but someone rescued and stored it in the Montana home.

The woman shipped the quilt to the Belfast Historical Society and Museum where it remains on display.

“It’s very hard to describe the feeling that came over me as two museum volunteers began to unbox the 1864 quilt on the day it arrived from Montana,” Pinette said. “Just as they began to unfold it, I realized I had read about this very quilt in a recollection of Belfast during the Civil War written by Augusta Q. Frederick in 1917. At that moment, we all realized what a true treasure had just come to the museum.”

Another quilt offering a glimpse of the past is a crazy quilt made by former Bailey Island resident Mary Louise Orr in 1890. Crazy quilts, made of varying shapes and types of material, were decorated with beads, flowers, and other ornaments. It wasn’t uncommon for seamstresses to request autographs of famous people, handwritten with ink on strips of fabric or ribbon, to weave into crazy quilts.

According to the Maine State Museum’s website, Orr’s 10-year old daughter Ethel requested an autograph from advocate for the blind Helen Keller, who was also 10-years-old at the time. Keller responded that she had only learned to write with a pencil. However, the girls became lasting pen pals. The website says Keller wrote to Orr in square block style letters using a writing board with a groove as a guide.

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