Tidal Flats

Tidal flats are a substantial resource harboring a variety of species, including clams, quahogs, marine worms, lobster larvae, and crabs. These resources are endangered by polluted water runoff from residential and commercial activities. The video clip below shows clam survey activity and small crabs scampering under an incoming tide during an educational event in 2012.…

Invasive Species

sign: "Boaters Watch Out For Hitchhiking Plants!" at Washington Pond in Washington (2003)

Maine, as most places on Earth, is home to native and non-native species of plants and animals. The State of Maine has extensive resources on this subject so there is no need to restate them here. An invasive plant is defined as a plant that is not native to a particular ecosystem, whose introduction does…

Clam Harvests

Digging clams on the flats (2004)

While softshell clam landings by commercial fishermen are down from their peaks in the 1970’s and early 1980’s, the total value and price per pound have increased dramatically.  Some of the limits on clam harvests are a result of periodic closures of clam flats by the Maine Department of Marine Resources. Public health and water…

Casco Bay

Schooner Near Halfway Rock (2001)

The Bay contains about 200 islands (depending on what one counts as an “island” but only about 138 “good sized” islands). The Bay is bounded by Cape Elizabeth in the south and Cape Small in the north. Halfway Rock is about half way between the two capes which are about twenty miles apart, and about…

Jonesport

The town hosts a U.S. Coast Guard station, headquartered at the entrance to the Jonesport-Beals Bridge. See video and photos. The main village, a lobster fishing center, is located on Moosabec Reach and the Indian River. Two nature preserves are in the town, both on islands. A bridge across the Reach leads to the island community of Beals.