The roar of summer traffic on Route 1 as it zooms over the Pleasant River bridge in Columbia drowns out the burbling water below.
The slip of river meandering under the road is easy to miss.
“There are a lot of people here who don’t really understand the value of what’s around us,” said Balchen. “They want to build attractions, but the fact that there is nothing here is the attraction.” The event was organized by Maine Coast Heritage Trust , the Downeast Salmon Federation, the Downeast Coastal Conservancy, Cobscook Shores and the state Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
Much attention is also being given to the land. According to the Downeast Conservation Network, roughly 16 percent of Hancock County and 28 percent of Washington County are in some form of public or private land conservation. The estimates far exceed the roughly 12 percent conserved in the state overall, putting Downeast much closer to hitting the “30×30” goal of conserving 30 percent of land by 2030.
Lubec officials say the exempt land, coupled with a nearly fourfold hike in some property assessments after a state-mandated evaluation, leaves the town struggling to fill the gap. Cobscook Shores, meanwhile, which owns 20 parklands in Lubec, made a $2,000 donation to the town through an associated foundation. The tax bill for the group’s Red Point Nature Preserve alone would have been $6,372 last year, Francis said.
“I think people, society, started realizing that they had lost the connection with the outdoors, that it can be therapeutic,” Howe said.A number of conservationists acknowledged that maintaining a balance is crucial, pointing to the high levels of tourism in Bar Harbor as something many Downeast towns understandably want to avoid.
Up and down the coast, farmers and fishermen have started changing with the times, opening up farm-to-table eateries, art galleries, wedding venues, and offering visitors lobster boat rides where they can learn to pull traps.
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