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The Expedition sought
to help people understand the Gulf of Maine,
its ecology, oceanography, shoreline, watersheds,
habitats, people, and places. It was an ecological
and cultural awareness trip. The Expedition
team hoped that in traveling slowly, by kayak,
they could gain, and convey to others, a sense
of the Gulf that could not be obtained by other
means of travel-a personal, immediate sense
of time and place.
Starting in Provincetown,
Massachusetts, the 1,300-mile journey followed
the shores of Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
Maine, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, ending
five months later at Cape Sable Island, Nova
Scotia.
Team members met with
over 3000 people either through formal programming
or impromptu educational opportunities along
the shore. Along the way, the Expedition team
stopped in 25 communities where they presented
the Gulf of Maine in an evolving slide-show,
delivered safety and stewardship workshops,
and learned from local residents about the issues
affecting them in these changing times. The
Expedition captured the imagination of people
far and near through media coverage in over
60 newspapers, radio and TV stations and website.
Maine Sea Grant was the
lead sponsor of this unique and successful educational
effort. The Expedition was a partnership of
many organizations, agencies, and businesses
including the Maine Coastal Program of the State
Planning Office, the Gulf of Maine Council on
the Marine Environment, Rippleffect, and the
Maine Association of Sea Kayak Guides and Instructors.
The team maintained a
website for duration of the journey. Field logs,
photos and much more are still available at
www.gomexpedition.org.
The 100-page Gulf
of Maine Expedition Final Report covers
the journey extensively. Team members explain:
“In this account, the Expedition team
hopes to provide readers with a snapshot of
the Gulf of Maine, as we observed it during
the summer of 2002. This is not a comprehensive
analysis of the Gulf; rather it is a representation
of the diverse people and places we met during
the Expedition. We hope that the stories we
have captured will form a basic understanding
of the important issues facing the Gulf at the
beginning of the 21st century, ranging from
fisheries to coastal access, from recreational
use to pollution, from coastal land use to tourism.
We encourage you to use these stories and data
to trace the Gulf of Maine’s changing
land and seascape, and to help find solutions
to complex problems, both locally and regionally.
For those interested in the nuts and bolts of
planning expeditions, in general, or the Gulf
of Maine Expedition, specifically, we have included
information on our safety and Leave No Trace
protocols, as well an overview of our educational
methods.”
For more information
about the Gulf of Maine Expedition, contact
Natalie
Springuel
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