Archives for working waterfront

Coastal Conversations 10/28/22: Eastport- Maine’s Easternmost Town

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel

Coastal Conversations: Conversations with people who live, work, and play on the Maine coast, hosted by the University of Maine Sea Grant Program.

This month:

The town of Eastport, Maine, has weathered many changes in the last decades, transitioning from empty sardine factories to a vibrant multi-use working waterfront positioned to respond and adapt to an uncertain future. This month we feature two stories from Maine’s easternmost town: “Eastport: Reinventing a Waterfront,” a recent episode on the From the Sea Up podcast, and “The Drama of Eastport Tides,” an older (2017) but timeless episode from the Salts and Water podcast.

Our first is called “Eastport: Reinventing a Waterfront.”
In the far eastern corner of Downeast Maine there’s a 3.7 square mile island. Connected to the mainland by a causeway and road that passes through the Pleasant Point Passamaquoddy Reservation, Sipayik, this island is home to the town of Eastport, population 1,300. Once the most prominent sardine canning village along the coast, Eastport’s last sardine factory closed in 1983. With that, a century-long industry was gone. In this episode we learn how Eastport has transitioned from a waterfront of empty factories to a vibrant multi-use working waterfront positioned to respond and adapt to a very uncertain future.
This story is brought to you by our radio storytelling friend Galen Koch, whose podcast series, From the Sea Up, has been featured on Coastal Conversations before. Galen brings the past and present together to help us make sense of Maine’s complicated future. This is the first in a working waterfront series we will keep sharing over the next few months.

People and organizations Featured in this story include: Tides Institute, Hugh French, Moose Island Marine, Dean Pike, Eastport Port Authority, and Chris Gardner.
This story is part of the podcast series From the Sea Up

A note from producer Galen Koch:
Thank you for listening to From the Sea up. This episode was written and produced by me, Galen Koch and assistant producer Olivia Jolley for the Island Institute. Nicole Wolf takes the beautiful photographs that accompany this episode. From the Sea Up’s Senior Editors are Isaac Kestenbaum and Josie Holtzman. Additional audio editing on this episode by Liz Joyce and Claudia Newall. Special thanks to Camden Hunt, Hugh French, Dean Pike, Chris Bartlett, and Chris Gardner for their help and participation. And thanks to the Salt Institute and Pamela Wood, Hugh French, and Lynn Kippax Jr, who together researched and wrote the 1983 journal publication, “Eastport: For Pride.” Most of the music in this episode is by Cue Shop. From the Sea Up is made possible by the Fund for Maine Islands through a partnership between Island Institute, College of the Atlantic, Maine Sea Grant, and the First Coast. Past episodes and more information are available here

Our second story Is called “The Drama of Eastport Tides”
The defining feature of the easternmost point of America is the dramatic tides of the Atlantic Ocean at the coast of Eastport, Maine. Learn why incredible natural feature exists and visit one of the largest confluences of whirlpools in the world. Hear from the Salts—people with deep connections to the sea, whose lives are shaped by this natural wonder.

This story was pulled out of the Coastal Conversations archives, from 2017, when well-known New England audio storyteller Rob Rosenthal partnered up with an initiative called Experience Maritime Maine to produce the Salts and Water podcast. Eastport is one of six towns covered in this series.

People and organizations featured in this story include: Butch Harris of Eastport Windjammers, harbor pilot Bob Peacock, photographer Lisa Tyson Ennis, some Eastport visitors, and of course, the tide.

This story is part of the podcast series SALTS & WATER: Stories from the Maine Coast

Experience Maritime Maine presents Salts & Water, a 6-part podcast series by award-winning producer Rob Rosenthal. These audio stories paint remarkable character portraits along the coast of Maine, through Eastport, Stonington, Searsport, Rockland, Bath, and Portland.
Meet the “women lobstermen” of Stonington, island-hop aboard a Windjammer in Penobscot Bay, and discover the salty fishmonger whose work on Portland’s piers is integral to Maine’s culture of seafood. Get to know meticulous boat builders, and learn how the dramatic tides shape life in Downeast Maine. Enjoy this podcast series.
Salts and Water is a project of Experience Maritime Maine, funded in part by the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation, Hamilton Marine, Maine’s MidCoast & Islands, and sponsored by Maine Boats, Homes, and Harbors. To hear the other stories in the series, visit Salts and Water Podcast Series

About the host:

Natalie Springuel has hosted Coastal Conversation’s since 2015, with support from the University of Maine Sea Grant where she has served as a marine extension associate for 20 years. In 2019, Springuel received an award for Public Affairs programming from the Maine Association of Broadcasters for the Coastal Conversations show called “Portland’s Working Waterfront.” Springuel is passionate about translating science, sharing stories, and offering a platform for multiple voices to weigh in on complex coastal and ocean issues. She has recently enrolled in audio production training at Maine Media Workshop to dive deeper into making great community radio.

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Coastal Conversations 9/23/22: Three Contemporary Maine Writers Inspired by the Coast

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel

Coastal Conversations: Conversations with people who live, work, and play on the Maine coast, hosted by the University of Maine Sea Grant Program.

This month:

Maine’s coastline has inspired writers and artists for generations. On today’s Coastal Conversations we are thrilled to feature three contemporary Maine writers who each have a special connection with the coast of Maine and coastlines around the world. We’ll hear their stories about the role of writing and art in their lives and what inspires their work today. Each author will share some of their recent work, including some poetry, haiku and prose.

Our featured writers today include Linda Buckmaster, writer, teacher, and self-described wanderer from Belfast, Maine; Valerie Lawson, poet, publisher and teacher from Robbinston, Maine; and Kristen Lindquist, writer, poet, and naturalist from Camden, Maine.

Guest/s:

Linda Buckmaster. Writer, teacher, wanderer. Belfast, Maine.
Linda’s most recent book, Elemental: A Miscellany of Salt Cod and Islands, is available at bookstores from Blue Hill to Portland or from the author. Her work will be featured at the 17th annual Belfast Poetry Festival, October 15th 2022.

Valerie Lawson. Poet, publisher and teacher. Robbinston, Maine.
Valerie’s poems about conserved lands at Reversing Falls in Pembroke were recently featured in the Writing the Land: Maine project. Her work will be featured at Poetry Express at University of Maine at Fort Kent on September 21, 22, 2022. Contact UMFK for more information. UMFK’s Acadian Archives to host Poetry Express Sept. 21-22 in Fiddlehead Focus/St. John Valley Times

Kristen Lindquist. Writer, poet, naturalist. Camden, Maine.
Kristen’s recent award-winning haiku e-chapbook It Always Comes Back Kristen’s Daily Haiku Blog

About the host:

Natalie Springuel has hosted Coastal Conversation’s since 2015, with support from the University of Maine Sea Grant where she has served as a marine extension associate for 20 years. In 2019, Springuel received an award for Public Affairs programming from the Maine Association of Broadcasters for the Coastal Conversations show called “Portland’s Working Waterfront.” Springuel is passionate about translating science, sharing stories, and offering a platform for multiple voices to weigh in on complex coastal and ocean issues. She has recently enrolled in audio production training at Maine Media Workshop to dive deeper into making great community radio.

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Coastal Conversations 8/26/22: National Working Waterfront Network conference

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel

Coastal Conversations: Conversations with people who live, work, and play on the Maine coast, hosted by the University of Maine Sea Grant Program.

In mid-July 2022, nearly 200 people gathered in Boston for the sixth National Working Waterfront Network conference. Working waterfronts are where people who make their living on the sea can access the water. They include ports, harbors, piers, wharves, launch ramps, mudflats, boat yards and more. The National Working Waterfront Network meets every 2-3 years to swap stories and strategies for strengthening and protecting waterfront infrastructure and working access to the coast.

At the 2022 conference, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree of Maine’s 1st Congressional District, long a working waterfront champion in partnership with Maine’s full delegation, gave a closing address during which she highlighted the importance of keeping the spotlight on these complex and critical spaces for our national economy and local, coastal culture. Voices throughout the event echoed the Congresswoman’s message, and on today’s Coastal Conversations show, we bring you some of those voices.

Today, we feature portions of Representative Pingree’s address, along with stories and perspectives from people connected to working waterfronts in Maine, Louisiana, Oregon and California. All voices shared in today’s show were recorded at the National Working Waterfront Network Conference 2022.

Guest/s:
Afton Vigue, Maine Aquaculture Association
Dominique Seibert, Louisiana Sea Grant
Jamie Doyle, Oregon Sea Grant
Michael Nelson, Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara, California

About the host:

Natalie Springuel has hosted Coastal Conversation’s since 2015, with support from the University of Maine Sea Grant where she has served as a marine extension associate for 20 years. In 2019, Springuel received an award for Public Affairs programming from the Maine Association of Broadcasters for the Coastal Conversations show called “Portland’s Working Waterfront.” Springuel is passionate about translating science, sharing stories, and offering a platform for multiple voices to weigh in on complex coastal and ocean issues. She has recently enrolled in audio production training at Maine Media Workshop to dive deeper into making great community radio.

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Coastal Conversations 2/22/19

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel

Maine coastal and ocean issues: Portland’s Working Waterfront at a Crossroads

What is the history of Portland’s working waterfront and what role does it play in the state’s fishing industry?
What changes are fishermen and wharf owners experiencing on the waterfront?
How has Portland’s mixed use zoning changed over the last several decades and how has this impacted water dependent industries?
What is the status of development on the waterfront in Portland today?
What would fishermen and wharf owners like the Portland waterfront to be in the future?

Guests:
John Bisnette, fisherman
Jim Buxton, fisherman
Bill Coppersmith, fisherman
Keith Lane, fisherman
Willis Spear, fisherman
Greg Turner, fisherman
Charlie Poole, owner of Union Wharf

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Coastal Conversations 11/23/18

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel
Guest Co-producers for this show: Corina Gribble, Ela Keegan, and Katie Clark, College of the Atlantic students

Maine coastal and ocean issues: Stories from the nation’s island-based working waterfronts

Key Discussion Points:
1. Year-round island communities in Maine, the Chesapeake Bay, and the Great Lakes all share the need for an active working waterfront for survival.
2. Interviews recorded at the National Working Waterfront Symposium in May 2018
3. Stories from island residents, fishermen, municipal officials, a marine suveyor and others about the importance of ferry service, a good relationship with the adjoining mainland, parking.
4. Demographic changes are moving many island working waterfronts from fisheries based to tourism based.

Guests:
Matthew Preisser, Lansing, MI, Lake Coordinator, Michigan Office of the Great Lakes
Steve Train, Long Island, ME, Commercial Lobsterman
Duke Marshall & Mark Nelson, Smith Island, MD, Smith Island United
Russ Brohl, South Bass Island, OH, Retired Ship Captain, Member of the Port Authority
Peter Huston, South Bass Island, OH, Filmmaker
Donald McCann, Fleets Island, VA, Marine Surveyor, Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Andy Dorr, Vinalhaven, ME, Vinalhaven Town Manager
Hattie Train, Long Island, ME, Undergraduate, University of Maine, and Commercial Lobsterman

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