Public Shoreline Access in Maine: A Citizen’s Guide to Coastal and Ocean Law describes Maine law and prominent court cases related to public use and access to the coast, from the 17th-century Colonial Ordinance that reserved the public’s right to “fishing, fowling and navigation” in the intertidal zone to the recent decision by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court regarding public use of a private road to access Cedar Beach in Harpswell. This is the third edition of the publication and the first update in more than a decade.

Connecticut Sea Grant has adapted Maine’s Property Owner’s Guide to Managing Flooding, Erosion and Other Coastal Hazards. Both resources help people evaluate threats to coastal property and learn how to protect homes from further damage, providing details about a variety of actions such as as dune restoration, repairing seawalls, moving landward or elevating structures.

Extension associate Esperanza Stancioff discusses her work with lobstermen to address the Gulf of Maine’s changing climate in a Huffington Post article, “Troubled waters: fishing in Gulf of Maine sheds light on urgency in protecting oceans.”

An article by communications director Catherine Schmitt and 2015 communications assistant Shelby Hartin, “Marine Science at the University of Maine, 1960-2015,” appears in the summer 2016 issue of the journal Maine History (Vol. 50), published by Maine Historical Society in conjunction with the University of Maine History Department, features articles related to UMaine history in the past half-century, guest edited by Howard Segal, professor of history, with guest associate editor Deborah Rogers, professor of English.

UMaine graduate student, Jesica Waller, along with Rick Wahle and colleagues published a paper in ICES Journal of Marine Science on the joint effects of ocean acidification and rising temperature on larval lobster development. They found that elevated temperatures associated with projected warming trends cause larvae to develop faster but also induce physiological stress, leading to increased mortality rates.

Several staff members are co-authors on a paper by Jennifer Brewer in the journal Antipode about the Maine Fishermen’s Forum as a model of engagement, capacity building, and advancing collaborative fisheries management.

Sea Grant researcher Yong Chen and colleagues published a paper in Acta Oceanologica Sinica, evaluating the underlying mechanisms for “fishing down marine food webs.” This research takes a closer look at mean trophic level, a metric commonly used to evaluate fishery sustainability.

Sea Grant researcher and University of Southern Maine professor Karen Wilson co-authored a paper highlighting the effects of climate change on estuaries across the nation.

UMaine postdoctoral researcher Haixue Shen published a paper with Gayle Zydlewski and colleagues that estimates the probability of fish encountering a marine hydrokinetic device (such as a tidal turbine), part of a Sea Grant research project.

Sea Grant Director for Research, Damian Brady, Robert Steneck, and recent UMaine graduate, Jennifer McHenry published work related to marine spatial planning in which they identified important habitat variables and spatial gradients that correlate with abundance, diversity, and commercial value of species assemblages in the Gulf of Maine using a remotely-operated vehicle (ROV).

The place-based literary journal The Catch: Writings from Downeast Maine is now accepting submissions of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction for Volume V, to be published in 2017.

NOAA’s Office of Education and Outreach highlighted the Signs of the Seasons New England Phenology Program on Facebook in August.

Tune in to WERU-FM Community Radio Mondays at noon to hear short stories in celebration of the National Parks centennial. Our Coastal Conversations in Acadia have included citizen scientists past and present, park service staff, a ferry captain, hawk-watchers, museum curators, scientists, and artists.

Finally, this is a good time to check out Maine’s reversing falls. These dramatic coastal features are made even more stunning with the colors of autumn as a backdrop. Get outside and enjoy the beauty of Maine!