Awarded Projects

Recipient Map

Completed Projects

Holbrook Wharf, Harpswell
The Holbrook Community Foundation, a newly incorporated 501(c) 3 community non-profit organization), organized to “Keep Holbrook’s Working” as an integral part of the working waterfront in Cundy’s Harbor in the town of Harpswell (Cumberland County). The Holbrook waterfront is a 0.77-acre, mixed use property that includes a commercial fishing wharf, a snack bar, a historic house with two apartments, a general store and a second dock with floats for recreational boating access and two moorings. In recent years the property has suffered from neglect and the Holbrook Community Foundation is charged with breathing new life into the facility. The Foundation successfully leveraged significant investment for the property and has created great potential to provide berthing, landing and mooring needs for up to 10 commercial fishermen who catch lobsters, crabs, shellfish and tuna. The Holbrook Community Foundation was granted an allocation of $300,000.00 from the Land for Maine’s Future Board to purchase a covenant on their property with a fair market value of $1,150,000.00. Click here to see the Holbrook Community Foundation website.

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Port Clyde Fishermen’s Cooperative, St. George
The Port Clyde Fishermen’s Co-op applied for funds to sell a covenant to the state on a 0.75 acre property located on Port Clyde Harbor in the town of St. George (Knox County). The covenant is being used to secure the property’s extensive capacity to support commercial fisheries access. The property currently supports the lobstering activities of the 28 Co-op members. They have wharfage, landing access and access to fuel, bait and parking. A portion of the property is leased to a family-owned and operated bait processing facility that provides bait to the Co-op and to fishermen throughout the area. Additionally the Co-op intends to meet the access needs of the local ground fishermen by utilizing the funds from the sale of the covenant to help finance a new wharf that will upgrade and increase the capacity of the facility. This upgrade will stimulate growth in Co-op membership and will provide deepwater berthing and a landing point for the largest active ground fishing fleet east of Portland. The Co-op was granted an allocation of $340,000.00 from the Land for Maine’s Future Board to purchase a covenant on their property with a fair market value of $845,000.00. Click here to read the article and view the video by WCSH6.

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Approved Projects

Spruce Head Fishermen’s Cooperative, South Thomaston
The Spruce Head Fishermen’s Co-op located in the town of South Thomaston (Knox County) applied for funds to help purchase the land (which is currently leased by the Co-op) to secure permanent commercial fishing access that encompasses their existing commercial fishing facilities. This small 0.25 acre property supports over 75 boats and the Co-op property is one of the most significant lobster landing sites on the coast of Maine. Additionally this facility provides limited services to non-members. Having managed the property for their own use for the last 30 plus years, the facility is ideally developed to support the rich commercial fishing of the region and a significant number of fishermen. Successful completion of this project will secure working access for not only the fishermen but over 100 families who are supported by the revenue generated across this property from the lobsters, crabs, scallops and shrimp landed at the facility. The Co-op was granted an allocation of $475,000.00 from the Land for Maine’s Future Board to purchase a covenant on their property with a fair market value of $950,000.00. These amounts are still under review.

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Roberts Wharf, Boothbay
With the assistance of the Working Waterfront Access Pilot Program, the Boothbay Region Land Trust is helping to secure permanent commercial fishing access to the Robert’s Wharf property located on Barter’s Island in the town of Boothbay (Lincoln County) on the Sheepscot River. This 1.9 acre property includes two pier structures that are used by four local lobstermen for equipment storage and convenient deepwater access to their moored boats. The Boothbay Region Land Trust has recently leveraged additional funds and upgraded the property and infrastructure to increase their capacity to accommodate up to 10 fishermen with moorings, wharfage, landing and gear storage space to continue to provide convenient access to their boats and equipment. The Working Waterfront Covenant ensures that this property (which is located in a residential area) remains an integral commercial fishing access point for the local fishermen. The Land Trust was granted an allocation of $34,600.00 from the Land for Maine’s Future Board to purchase a covenant on their property with a fair market value of $500,000.00. Click here to see the Boothbay Region Land Trust website.

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Perio Point Shellfish, Beals Island
Carver Enterprises applied for funds to secure permanent commercial fishing access to the property associated with Perio Point Shellfish located in the town of Beals (Washington County) on Moosabec Reach. This 1.8 acre property includes 2 tidal lobster pounds and regularly serves 75-100 boats that land lobsters, crabs, scallops, worms, urchins, cucumbers and quahogs harvested in the region. The property also includes wharves, service buildings, and related working space and facilities. Purchase of the covenant assures that this property will continue to be operated and available for the many fishermen in the Jonesport-Beals area. Carver Enterprises was granted an allocation of $261,250.00 from the Land for Maine’s Future Board to purchase a covenant on the property with a fair market value of $1,045,000.00.

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Municipal Pier, Isle au Haut
The island town of Isle au Haut (Knox County) sought funds to secure permanent commercial fishing access over the town’s multi-use municipal pier. Proceeds from the sale of the Working Waterfront Covenant will be used to leverage additional funds to replace the existing town pier with a facility that will support commercial fishing activities as well as continue to serve as the island’s main point of water access for all other public and private uses. The project directly benefits the island’s 15 commercial fishermen who land lobsters, halibut, scallops, and clams by securing their access on the island’s only public pier and by also ensuring the viability of the year-round community. The town of Isle au Haut was granted an allocation of $104,000.00 from the Land for Maine’s Future Board to purchase a covenant on their property with a fair market value of $350,000.00. Click here to see information about the town of Isle au Haut.

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John Hancock Wharf, York
The Old York Historical Society sought funding to sell a covenant to the state on the historic 0.54 acre John Hancock Wharf property located on the York River in the town of York (York County). Hancock Wharf was used in the 1700’s as a commercial wharf for sailing vessels bringing a variety of goods to the region and before the end of World War I the wharf was employed for lobstering. In more recent years the wharf has primarily served recreational boaters in the summer and offered some commercial boat access in the winter. Old York Historical Society saw the opportunity to rekindle the wharf’s historic use by way of a sale of covenant to secure the property’s permanent capacity to support commercial fisheries access to the local fishermen. Funds will be used to stabilize the shoreline, repair the earthen wharf with cribwork, add another ramp and float, enlarge the current decked area, build a new bait storage shed, and install an electric hoist. The wharf will provide 3 commercial lobster boats loading and unloading capacity, gear and bait storage, parking and access to fuel. Old York Historical Society was granted an allocation of $255,000.00 from the Land for Maine’s Future Board to purchase a covenant on their property with a fair market value of $830,000.00. Click here to see the Old York Historical Society website.

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Pemaquid Fishermen’s Cooperative, Bristol
The Pemaquid Fishermen’s Co-op (the oldest known continually operating fisheries cooperative in the country going on 60 years) wanted to preserve their fishing heritage by sale of a covenant on their 4.5 acre property located adjacent to Pemaquid Harbor in the town of Bristol (Lincoln County). The covenant will secure the property’s extensive capacity to support the lobstering, shrimp and scalloping activities of the 21 current Co-op members and allow room to handle more than 30 boats. Approximately 50 fishing and harvesting families including vessel captains, and their sternmen and women are supported by this working waterfront access. The Co-op plans to invest their award in their waterfront infrastructure to include general maintenance and a state of the art chilled seawater system housed in a new shoreside building as well as better lobster storage equipment for their boats. These improvements will allow them to store over 10,000 lbs. of lobsters for months with very low mortality and no feeding costs. Some of their award will be devoted to better branding and marketing of their high quality lobsters leading to higher profits. The Co-op was granted an allocation of $265,400.00 from the Land for Maine’s Future Board to purchase a covenant on their property with a fair market value of $1,280,000.00. Click here to see the Pemaquid Fishermen’s Cooperative website.

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Davis Wharf, Tremont
Third generation fishermen Wayne and Robert Davis applied for funds to sell a covenant to the state on their family owned 0.57 acre property (Davis Wharf) located in Goose Cove in the town of Tremont on Mount Desert Island (Hancock County). The covenant will secure the property’s capacity to support the lobster, crab, shrimp and scalloping activities of the 4 current boats that operate off the property with potential to add 2 more vessels in the future. Davis Wharf is believed to be the last full service non-dealer owned fishing wharf on Mount Desert Island and it currently supports 8 commercial fishermen with potential to benefit a total of 12 in the future. Awarded monies will refinance the business and improve the wharf infrastructure adding additional tie up space, more efficient loading and unloading capacity with a new electric hoist, and installing a large float and ramp which allows better access between tides. With the covenant in place the family will assure that the next generation of fishing tradition continues on the property. The Davis Wharf was granted an allocation of $265,000.00 from the Land for Maine’s Future Board to purchase a covenant on their property with a fair market value of $720,000.00. Click here to read the article and view the video by WLBZ2.

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