As development and waterfront privatization sweeps its way up the coast of Maine, decision-makers and their local constituencies grapple with waterfront use and access issues. Water-dependent industries, ranging from traditional fisheries to recreational businesses, as well as the public at large, are all facing decreasing access to the ocean. This signals an important change in our coastal heritage. Municipal officials, water-dependent industries, and residents have all identified the need for outreach and assistance to help maintain the character of, and access to, Maine's waterfront areas for diverse users while creating a climate that is growth-friendly.
Maine Sea Grant works extensively with diverse partners to address these needs. Through forums, workshops and conferences, publications, inventories, and facilitation, our outreach program provides information and tools for protecting coastal access.
 The Marine Extension Team recently received a “Program Leadership Team” grant from University of Maine Cooperative Extension to implement outreach and education on coastal access. Our team is now working with Island Institute, the Maine Coastal Program and Maine's Working Waterfront Coalition to develop a plan of action that will include regional meetings and outreach materials highlighting tools for protecting coastal access and working waterfronts. We'll keep you posted via this Web site.
 May 2007
Access to the Waterfront: Issues and Solutions Across the Nation  PDF 5.6 MB
October 2006
Forum Series on Coastal Access and Working Waterfronts
Publications
National Coastal Access
Conference Announcement
Resource Materials
Forum Series on Coastal Access and Working Waterfronts
Since 2003, the Maine Sea Grant Marine Extension Team (MET) has cooperated with numerous partners, including the Working Waterfront Coalition, Gulf of Maine Foundation, Maine Coastal Program, Island Institute, Maine Seacoast Mission, Coastal Enterprises Inc., SOS-Maine, Surfrider Foundation, Washington County Council of Governments, and others to host coastal access workshops in Downeast, Midcoast, and Southern Maine.
These forums highlighted the value of Maine's diverse waterfront, and identified challenges and solutions for coastal communities and businesses. The central goal has been to share information and experiences, across industry and community stakeholders, about the tools and resources available to shape the future of Maine 's waterfront. MET members helped organize and facilitate the workshops, which drew between 70 and 110 participants from diverse stakeholder groups throughout the coast.
• Coastal Access in Southern Maine: An Open Discussion Among Regional Stakeholders, University of New England, Biddeford, Maine, June 2, 2006. View materials from this workshop.
• Downeast Forum on Coastal Access, Carter Conference Center, Machias, Maine, January 19, 2006. View materials from this workshop.
• Working Waterfront Access: A Forum on Challenges and Solutions, University of Maine Darling Marine Center, Walpole, Maine, December 17, 2003. View materials from this workshop.
Publications
 The MET collaborated with John Duff, director of the Marine Law Institute of the University of Maine Law School, to create an informational booklet entitled Public Shoreline Access in Maine PDF 873 KB. This publication updates the popular citizen's guide on Public Shoreline Access and the Moody Beach Case, which the Marine Law Institute and Maine/New Hampshire Sea Grant produced in 1990. The booklet is a critical missing link for educating communities about the law and options for maintaining public access.
The MET worked with Judy East, Washington County Council of Governments, to produce an educational brochure  about what it is like to live in a commercial fishing community. The document, Moosabec: The Downeast Fishing Community of Beals and JonesportPDF 684 KB, is intended to promote understanding among newcomers and existing residents over traditional uses of land and water. This template was used for another brochure, Harpswell's Working Waterfronts PDF 927 KB, developed for a community in the midcoast region of the state.
Communities now have a tool to inform the public and give the same information to those engaged in the process of identifying and resolving coastal access issues. National Coastal Access
Changes in coastal access in Maine mirror similar challenges faced by many coastal regions throughout the nation. Maine Sea Grant is working in partnership with other Sea Grant programs and organizations throughout the country to conduct an inventory of coastal access issues from coast to coast. The goals are to characterize the scope of changing waterfronts and coastal access issues throughout the country, and the effects on coastal communities; to inventory the diverse approaches implemented by Sea Grant programs to address these themes; to provide tools and case studies highlighting solutions used to address these themes; and to synthesize all of the above into a compelling case—regarding the need for funding, policies and programs that address waterfront and access issues—to be presented to Congress and state legislatures. As of October 2006, this effort is well under way and input is sought from all parts of the nation. For more information and to be involved, please contact nspringuel@coa.edu.
Access to the Waterfront: Issues and Solutions Across the Nation PDF 5.6 MB
Conferences
The Working Waterways & Waterfronts 2007 Symposium will be held May 9-11, 2007, in Norfolk, Virginia. This three-day symposium will serve as a catalyst to organize and share the most current thinking regarding the growing impediments to boating and fishing access. Through presentations and panel discussions, attendees will learn about local, state, and national-level initiatives designed to address issues of water access and water-dependent industries.
Resource Materials
Thanks to the dedicated work of many organizations and individuals over the last several years, the importance of coastal access and working waterfronts has achieved great importance to the Maine public. As a result, the people of Maine resoundingly passed two referenda (November 2005) dedicated to protecting working waterfront access through public investment and current use taxation. In addition to signaling an important step forward for Maine coastal residents, this has also helped put Maine on the national map as a leader in addressing coastal access challenges. Other states and regions are looking to Maine for leadership on this issue. And we have resources to share!
In Spring 2006, Sea Grant programs in Mississippi, Alabama, and North Carolina hosted a series of workshops and conferences on the changing nature of working waterfronts in their areas. Maine Sea Grant extension associate Natalie Springuel was invited to share the Maine perspective at these events. In preparation, we worked with the Maine Coastal Program, Coastal Enterprises, Inc. and the Maine Working Waterfront Coalition to prepare an extensive CD of resources, including studies, strategies, publications, and much more. View content of the CD.
Coastal Access in Southern Maine : An Open Discussion Among Regional Stakeholders was held in Biddeford on June 2, 2006. View materials from this workshop.
|
