Category: Nature & Environment

Dozens of residents shared their concerns about how climate change might affect Harpswell at a recent workshop hosted by the town’s Comprehensive Plan Task Force.

Paul Joyce, at the helm of a 21-foot center-console motorboat, slowly maneuvered the vessel away from the dock at Bowdoin College’s Schiller Coastal Studies Center on Orr’s Island.

A trawler that sank to the bottom of Mackerel Cove, Bailey Island, in the 1990s leaked diesel fuel into the cove on Monday, July 10.

On a sunny spring day, it’s typical to find the average Harpswellian lounging by the shore, cutting through currents in a kayak, or simply enjoying whatever leisurely outside activity suits them best.

Meredith White began her education as a marine biologist while a child exploring the tidal pools around Potts Point in Harpswell. White was recently named supervisor of the state’s Nearshore Marine Resources Program.

Martha Spiess, a retired veterinarian, began testing waters in Brunswick for PFAS, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, after hearing news of “forever chemicals” contaminating Maine farms.

A recent U.S. Navy report finds that perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances concentrated near the runway of the former Brunswick Naval Air Station “may be a primary source of PFAS in (area) groundwater and springs,” potentially contaminating the aquifer that supplies two well fields of the Brunswick & Topsham Water District, which serves roughly 18,000 residents.

As they hunt for fish, common terns are a delight to behold.
These smallish gray-and-white birds with black caps and orange beaks swoop low over the water. Stopping to hover, a tern will suddenly plunge into the water, emerging moments later with a small herring hanging from the side of its beak.