Dave Schmanska, St. George's Harbormaster, welcomes everyone to tonight's workshop being held at the University of Maine's Darling Marine Center, in Walpole, Maine.
Dave begins by talking about his personal experiences as a citizen of a coastal community and as a harbormaster. Having spent his life on the water, Dave has witnessed a dramatic change in the waterfront and seen traditional ways of life lost to the privatization of coastal lands. Land that was once working waterfront is being sold to private owners at an alarming rate. More often than not this land is put to uses that limit or restrict coastal access. With the value of shorefront property increasing, more and more of Maine's coast is being sold to private landowners. This means that much of Maine's coast will never again support working fishermen and their families. Dave stresses that the health of Maine's fishing industry is intrinsically linked to coastal access. As such, preservation of Maine's cultural heritage and fishing communities is dependent upon the preservation of Maine's working waterfront.
Dave tells us that we are here tonight to discuss ways to address the access issues that impact Maine fishermen and talk about programs, such as the Working Waterfront Access Pilot Program and Current Use Taxation, that have been developed over the past several years in response to these problems. Dave knows first-hand the positive effect that these programs have on fishing communities that are struggling with access issues. Just this year, the Working Waterfront Access Program provided funding to restore and expand the Port Clyde wharf at the Fisherman's Co-op in St. George.
Before introducing tonight's moderator, Dave thanks everyone who has worked so hard to make these programs a reality, emphasizing that innovate solutions like these, along with continued activism and education, are an essential part of preserving working waterfront in Maine.
Dave introduces tonight's moderator, Dick Clime of Coastal Enterprises, Inc. Dick welcomes everyone again and explains that the purpose of tonight's workshop is to come together as a community and discuss the issues associated with working waterfront and public access and share ideas for resolving these issue in a cooperative way.
Here tonight are a couple of South Bristol residents, an extension agent with the Maine Sea Grant Program, several fishermen, a real estate agent, a Phippsburg resident hoping for ideas on how to incorporate public use into working waterfront, land use planners, town assessors, agency members, and law students.
Before we get started Dick wants to recognize Maine Sea Grant for funding tonight's Workshop.
Next: Progress Made
Next: Progress Made
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