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Good morning from the shores of Gouldsboro, where July 4 was full of family and friends, picnics and barbecues and boat rides. There was plenty of lobster, burgers and hot dogs, and fireworks to cap off Independence Day in a blaze of light. 

Now it’s back to summer, with heavy tourist traffic and new small businesses cropping up here and there to pique their interests. The feast or famine economy, anecdotally speaking, appears to have stretched into a roughly six month season. 

Which brings us to this week’s very interesting story by Joyce Kryszak, which you can find below. She reports that several nonprofits are counting on land and water preservation to boost the less than robust economy in Washington County. The target is tourists. But everything comes at a price.

As ecotourism grows, so does the desire to maintain Downeast’s wild character

“They want to build attractions, but the fact that there is nothing here is the attraction,” said Larry Balchen, a member of the Pleasant River Fish and Game Conservation Association. He believes Downeast Maine is at an inflection point. 

In the past decade, the state and conservation groups have caught on to the idea that land and water preservation could also help boost the region’s lagging economy. But some locals worry the influx of tourists could alter the region’s character — arguing there needs to be a balance.

Read this Maine Monitor story by Joyce Kryszak.

While The Maine Monitor does not place its content behind paywalls, some newsrooms we link to in this newsletter may. 

A program called The Connections Initiative has been working to make it easier for locals in need of housing, heating and transportation to receive assistance. | Quoddy Tides

About 150 concerned residents turned out for a meeting on the fate of Seawall Road in Southwest Harbor, which remains closed after damage caused by January and March storms. | Mt. Desert Islander

There’s a form to help people in crisis. Most don’t know it exists. | The Maine Monitor

The Passamaquoddy Tribe of Indian Township has been awarded a $4.3 million grant to build an eel-growing farm. | MaineBiz

Maine has announced a resource center to aid local opioid settlement spending. | The Maine Monitor

The Downeast Salmon Federation will use a $9.1 million federal grant to remove an ice retention dam on the Narraguagus River in Cherryfield. | Bangor Daily News

Maine ombudsman ‘not aware’ of the high number of wanderings from assisted living facilities. | The Maine Monitor

Officials at the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy say a dead porpoise that washed up on Great Cranberry Island this week had what appeared to be a bite taken out of it by a white shark. | Bangor Daily News

The Northeast Harbor Fleet is raising its pier, raising a structure surrounding a flagpole, and moving the fleet building back 40 feet from the shore, all in an effort to adapt to climate change. | Mt. Desert Islander

A new study finds critical infrastructure in Maine will face frequent, disruptive tidal flooding in the coming decades. | The Maine Monitor

An unusual New Hampshire well is serving as the basis for a new shallow well design being researched and tested by scientists on Maine farms. | Bangor Daily News

Maine is among the top 10 destinations for the 75 percent of Americans planning road trips this summer. | MaineBiz

Atlantic Sea Farms, which farms kelp, has doubled its harvest since last year. | MaineBiz

The Maine Monitor just welcomed a new reporter to cover Downeast Maine and other rural areas of the state. Please join us in welcoming Adrienne Washington!

Know of a story that we should be digging into? Send it to our newsroom.

The Maine Monitor is a publication of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, an independent and nonpartisan nonprofit news organization that produces investigative journalism. We believe news is a public good and keep our news free to access. We have no paywall and do not charge for our newsletters. If you value the reporting we do for Maine, please consider making a donation! We cannot do this reporting without your support.