Gouldsboro and its Gouldsboro Shore program have been in the news over the past weeks. In mid-March, Rachel May published an article in Outrider that looks at what the town is doing in its Shellfish Lab and why it is important. This week, Anne Berleant’s article in the Ellsworth American takes a deep look at what Gouldsboro is doing to protect waterfront access and how the work here connects with what other communities are facing.
Climate Change and New England’s Beloved Clams
Rachel May and her young son, Issac, visited Gouldsboro in early August last year to learn more about what was going on. Rachel is a writer and learned about the lab from folks at Schoodic Institute. She came to see whether it might be the basis for a magazine story.
She met with Mike and me and heard all about green crabs and our plans for raising clams for use as seed to restore flats and so on. But the best part, certainly as far as Issac was concerned, was going onto the clam flat at the northern tip of Bunker’s Harbor with Noah Milsky, our 2022 intern, to put some of the 2021 clams into the mud. (These clams were now over 1-year old and were getting too big to do well in the upweller.) Once he was out on the mud, Issac decided that he wanted to be a clam and covered himself with mud. Rachel had figured that would happen. She says that Issac still talks about being a clam.
I enjoy seeing the place where we live and what we do through the eyes of people who live in more urban places. They notice things that are so familiar I hardly see them. We are blessed to live in an amazing place. I think you will enjoy her story.
Shore Access Tightens for Diggers
Anne Berleant reports on waterfront issues for the Ellsworth American and heard Pauline Angione of the Gouldsboro Shore crew talk about shore access at the Maine Fisherman’s Forum. She wanted to come out and see some of the places that Pauline was talking about and spent the better part of a day touring around Gouldsboro with Pauline and Mike Pinkham.
Given that start, Anne went on to talk with Amanda Lyons in Lubec and Joe Porada, who chairs the Seven Towns shellfish committee (Ellsworth, Franklin, Hancock, Lamoine, Sorrento, Sullivan, and Trenton). Coming from different places, Amanda and Joe had different stories to share, but the overall message was still the same: shore access for harvesters who reach the shore on foot is at risk. Anne’s article is one of the best short descriptions of the issue that I’ve read.
