Only in Maine

NYC had ranked choice inda JUNE 22, primary across da board... a bit excessive if ya ask me... cellfish...

Going to be harder for Massachusetts to power all those EV's....

[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2021/11/03/maine-cmp-corridor-rejected/6201635942896/[/URL]

Good thing it wasn't the ACME Moving Company!!

[HEADING=2]Beep beep! This roadrunner hitched a ride from Las Vegas to Maine[/HEADING]
[pressherald.com/2021/11/15/beep-beep-this-roadrunner-hitched-a-ride-from-las-vegas-to-maine/]('https://www.pressherald.com/2021/11/15/beep-beep-this-roadrunner-hitched-a-ride-from-las-vegas-to-maine/')

By Gillian Graham November 15, 2021
[IMG alt="A greater roadrunner, native to the American Southwest, hitched a ride in a rental moving van from Las Vegas, and was discovered on Saturday, November 13. Volunteers got the bird to Avian Haven, which is making plans to return it to its native habitat. (Photo by Terry Heitz)"]https://multifiles.pressherald.com/uploads/sites/4/2021/11/roadrunner-1637012983-1024x684.jpg[/IMG]
A stowaway bird went undetected for more than 2,800 miles as a moving van crossed the United States from Las Vegas to Maine.

The greater roadrunner – a bird native to the Southwest and made famous in animated run-ins with Wile E. Coyote – made its presence known when two men opened the doors of the van to unload it Saturday at a storage unit in Westbrook.

The bird, apparently unscathed by its long journey, is now safe at an avian rehabilitation center as arrangements are made to bring it back to Nevada.

The father and son who discovered the bird inside their rented van called Westbrook police and were put in contact with [Avian Haven]('https://www.avianhaven.org/'), a nonprofit avian rehabilitation center in Freedom. Karen Silverman, an Avian Haven volunteer who lives in the Portland area, was deployed to the storage unit and, with the help of the father and son, managed to catch the bird in a net.

“We were all completely taken by surprise,” said Diane Winn, executive director of Avian Haven, which has cared for 34,000 birds from more than 100 species.

This is the first time Avian Haven has cared for a roadrunner, but Chelsey Gundlach, the center’s rehabilitation manager, has experience working with roadrunners from her previous job in Oklahoma.
In the Southwest, greater roadrunners favor a desert scrub habitat. The sleek brown birds have long tail feathers and bright patches near their eyes. They’ll eat anything they catch, but their diets mainly consist of lizards and small snakes.

True to their name, they would rather walk or run than fly. The roadrunner can maintain a speed of 15 mph hour over long distances, [according to the National Audubon Society]('https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/greater-roadrunner'), and can likely go even faster when it’s chasing a fast lizard. But this bird rode cross country, leaving the work to the drivers.

Silverman, who has volunteered with Avian Haven for seven years, typically responds to calls about injured or orphaned birds that are native to the area. She had never seen a roadrunner in person before and was surprised, and a bit excited, when she heard one had been found in a moving van.

Silverman was under the impression that the bird possibly had escaped the van and run through an open gate into the woods behind the storage facility.

“I was thinking that I probably couldn’t catch this bird,” she said.

But it turned out the bird was still inside the van. One of the men was able to flush it to the back, where Silverman caught it in the net. Once she’d done so she took extra care to make sure it couldn’t get away when it was transferred into a box, she said, because she “figured they are probably very good escape artists.'” With the help of one of the men, she was able to transfer the bird into the box to be safely moved to Freedom.

“It’s kind of exciting to be netting a roadrunner in Westbrook, Maine,” Silverman said. “It’s always an honor and pleasure for me to be part of an organization that helps birds out. This poor displaced bird definitely needed help and protection.”

As with most bird rescues, a caravan was set up to relay the bird up to Freedom as quickly as possible. Silverman and two other volunteers each transported the roadrunner for part of the drive to Avian Haven.
Staff at Avian Haven drained a pool in the pool house to create a warmer temporary space for the roadrunner, which will have minimal contact with humans during its stay. The bird is being fed a diet of mice and insects while it is in Maine.

“We don’t have any lizards in our freezer, unfortunately,” Winn said.

Winn said staff at the center have not been able to determine if the bird is male or female because that determination is based on weight. They are unsure if the bird had access to any food – perhaps a stowaway lizard or two – while in the van, or if it lost weight during the journey. The bird is in “remarkably good” shape, Winn said.

Winn is now working on the logistics of getting the bird back to Nevada. An importation permit is required whenever wildlife is transferred between states.

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife on Monday reached out to the Arizona Game and Fish Department about the bird. Arizona wildlife officials sent Maine officials an import permit, which will be filled out by Avian Haven, said Mark Latti, spokesman for the Maine IF&W.

Though Winn has never filed importation permits with Nevada, she anticipates that process will be easy and relatively quick. The bigger challenge is making arrangements to fly the bird across country as a busy holiday travel weekend approaches. A direct flight out of Boston, Winn said, will probably be the best option. The bird likely will make its return trip in cargo.

“We’re obviously making every effort to get it back to Nevada,” she said.

Just found this. Not to pretty on the outside but nice inside, with good amount of land. What do Old Mud and Roccus think?
Take a look at this home I found on Realtor.com
185 Vickery Rd, Auburn
$259,900 · 3beds · 1.5baths

[URL unfurl="true"]https://apps.realtor.com/mUAZ/ca6c5b51[/URL]

[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.yahoo.com/news/maine-fishermen-want-eat-more-123100175.html[/URL]

[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.yahoo.com/news/maine-fishermen-want-eat-more-123100175.html[/URL]

Julia Child did it over 30 years ago...

Julia Child did it over 30 years ago...

you ever try targeting them? You've gotta go pretty deep I believe.

Wonder why Maine Department of Marine Resources didn't fine her for water pollution, don't want no Joisey pollution in our pristine waters...

[HEADING=2]New Jersey woman pays $800 fine for jumping off boat in Bar Harbor on a bet[/HEADING]
[pressherald.com/2021/12/30/new-jersey-woman-pays-800-fine-for-jumping-off-boat-in-bar-harbor-on-a-bet/]('https://www.pressherald.com/2021/12/30/new-jersey-woman-pays-800-fine-for-jumping-off-boat-in-bar-harbor-on-a-bet/')

Associated Press December 31, 2021

BAR HARBOR — A New Jersey woman who jumped off a sightseeing boat on a dare agreed to pay an $800 civil fine to resolve the case, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

The woman jumped from the M/V Acadian as it was preparing to dock in Bar Harbor, plunging into Frenchman Bay and forcing operators to disengage the propellers and mount a rescue, according to court documents.

Video was captured of the woman admitting she did it for $500 while treading water on July 15, and she acknowledged her brother placed a $500 bet over whether she’d do it, prosecutors said.

She was cited under federal maritime law for interfering with the safe operation of a vessel.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Thursday she agreed to an $800 civil fine. She had faced a fine of up to $25,000. Her attorney didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Nice piece in the American Lighthouse Federation newsletter about the local lighthouse...

[HEADING=2]Looking Back on 2021 – Pemaquid Point Lighthouse[/HEADING]
BY: [BOB TRAPANI, JR., ALF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR]('http://www.lighthousefoundation.org/author/btrapani/') PUBLISHED: DECEMBER 28, 2021

Lighthouse is Repainted and Reopened to the General Public

Lighthouse work never ends. There is always more to do.
(Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.)

As with any lighthouse, no matter how much work is invested into the historic site, there will always be more to do on the horizon. You can count on it!

For example, over the last fifteen years at Pemaquid Point, the interior brickwork of the lighthouse has been repointed and restored, the staircase repainted and maintained, the brick vestibule building repointed and restored, the exterior granite tower repointed and restored, ironwork restored and the exterior of the tower repainted, not once, not twice, but three times. The latest exterior repainting effort occurring in 2021.

ALF’s Friends of Pemaquid Point Lighthouse (FPPL) have always remained vigilant with their care of the 1835 tower at Pemaquid Point and 2021 – despite it being another strange year, was no exception. One of the keys to preservation is carrying out renewal work on aspects such as coatings in a timely fashion to prevent the period between maintenance cycles from exceeding its effectiveness against the elements.
Under the “watch” of FPPL chairperson Marty Welt, the chapter has excelled at this task, and therefore, ensured that the venerable Pemaquid Point Lighthouse has remained structurally steadfast and gleaming during the past two decades.

Pemaquid Point Lighthouse was repainted in 2021 – and is gleaming once more!
(Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.)

In 2021, FPPL contracted with the J.B. Leslie Company of South Berwick, Maine, to have the granite tower repainted. The $11,300 project, completed in late June, included the exterior prep and repainting work of the iron lantern, stone tower and brick vestibule.

High profile maintenance work was not the only big accomplishment for the Friends of Pemaquid Point Lighthouse this year. As we all know, much of our normal way of life was disrupted in 2020 due to the pandemic. This included the light tower at Pemaquid Point being closed to public access last year.

A combination of the repainting project and ongoing public health situation in 2021 delayed the opening of the lighthouse to the public for educational tours, but as usual, FPPL rose to the occasion – determined not to let another year slip away. Chairman Marty Welt rallied enough volunteers to safely reopen the lighthouse for tours on a limited schedule in 2021.

Visitors to Pemaquid Point Light in 2021 received a firsthand view of the new LED optic inside the classical lens.
(Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.)

This “above & beyond” effort allowed visitors to once again immerse themselves in the joy of lighthouses when they visited Pemaquid Point – and of course, they walked away learning some new things about lighthouse history too. One of them being a close-up look at cutting edge technology inside the beacon’s fourth order Fresnel lens.

In 2020, the United States Coast Guard replaced the beacon’s incandescent light source (1000-watt lamps) with a High Output LED Lighthouse Light Source (SL-LED) manufactured by a company called Sealite. The new technology was specifically designed to replace traditional lamps in classical lighthouse optics. With the lighthouse closed due to the pandemic in 2020, visitors did not have the chance to learn firsthand about this fascinating new chapter in the history of Pemaquid Point Lighthouse. But they sure did in 2021!

Pemaquid Point Lighthouse is “shining” in more ways than one in 2021 thanks to the dedicated FPPL volunteers and their ongoing hard work – and we are all richer for it!

Pemaquid Point Lighthouse…still guiding mariners at sea and always beckoning those on land to come near and linger awhile.
(Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.)

[HEADING=2]Bill Nemitz: His light-bulb moment brightened an otherwise dark Christmas[/HEADING]
[pressherald.com/2022/01/02/his-light-bulb-moment-brightened-an-otherwise-dark-christmas/]('https://www.pressherald.com/2022/01/02/his-light-bulb-moment-brightened-an-otherwise-dark-christmas/')

By Bill Nemitz January 2, 2022

There are dreamers, and then there are doers. And every once in a while, along comes a guy who’s both.
Meet Joel Ross. Also known, in and around his hometown, as the man who just saved Christmas.

“I know my mother, my wife and my kids have all been really proud of me about it,” said Joel, 39. “So, it kind of makes you feel good.”

It all began a month or so ago when Joel and his wife, Lacee, were meandering around Lubec with their sons looking at Christmas lights. Peering out at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial Bridge, which connects the U.S. mainland with Canada’s Campobello Island, Joel wondered aloud, “Why don’t we ever decorate the bridge?”

It was not a rhetorical question. And the more he asked it over the next few days – including a post on the community Facebook page that drew much attention – the more Joel heard the same answer.
“Everyone’s reply was, ‘No one’s ever thought of it,’” Joel recalled. “I was quite shocked.”

Maybe it was the pandemic-induced gloom that hung over this holiday season, just like it did the last. Or maybe it was the fact that nearby Campobello Island, where Lacee grew up, had never seemed so far away since COVID-19 began limiting travel over the 879-foot bridge named for the president who famously summered on the picturesque island.

All Joel knew was that “nobody’s ever thought of it before” wasn’t not a satisfactory answer. In fact, it was an invitation: As FDR himself once said, “Happiness … lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.”

Joel, who has his own small construction business, set to work. He contacted the Maine Department of Transportation, which shares oversight of the 60-year-old bridge with its counterpart in Canada. Transportation officials, upon reviewing the plan, gave him a green light.

He sat down with customs officials on both sides of the border. Go for it, they agreed.

Finally, he reached out to the U.S. Coast Guard, which maintains red and green navigational lights on the bridge for vessels traversing the Lubec Narrows below. More thumbs up.

Off Joel went to the Walmart Supercenter in Calais, where he plunked down $400 of his own money for some 2,000 feet of LED Christmas lights.

“I’m not a connoisseur of Christmas lights by any means, so I learned a lot,” he said. “I actually had to get a specific type of light in order to carry the current that far.”

Speaking of which, he also needed electricity. That would come from his own 5,600-watt, gasoline-powered generator.

Down to the bridge Joel went, the second week of December. For eight bone-chilling hours, he strung the lights along the bridge’s north side, clearly visible from Lubec’s nearby town center. Around that time, Sarah Craighead Dedmon, editor of the Machias Valley News Observer, caught wind of the story, and suddenly the holidays weren’t so glum after all.

A GoFundMe campaign sprung up to help cover Joel’s expenses. Donation buckets went out at Lyons IGA Market and McFadden’s Variety, where manager Mike McFadden went one better and told Joel to take whatever gas he needed for the generator from the store’s pump. No charge.

“We’re a small community that do what we need to do to help people out and bring Christmas cheer,” McFadden explained. “Joel come up with a wonderful idea, and he put a lot of legwork into it and stuff … so we told him we would help out and take the weight of the gas off” his shoulders.

So generous were the townsfolk that before long, they’d covered the $400-plus Joel already had shelled out – and then some. Back out he went to string more lights along the south side of the bridge – from that direction, the glow of Eastport several miles to the north provided the perfect backdrop to the holiday tableau.

In all, Joel estimates he spent 14 hours illuminating the bridge, with occasional help from customs officers who couldn’t just sit in their cozy border station and watch this guy jump-start Christmas all by himself. “I think they felt bad for me,” Joel said with a chuckle.

But putting up the lights, it turns out, was the easy part. Each day thereafter, Joel drove 8 miles from his home to the bridge just before sunset to fuel the generator and fire up the display, then returned at 10 p.m. to turn it all off. In all, the 16-mile round trips totaled more than 500 miles.

The original plan was to keep the lights on through New Year’s Day. But alas, midway through last week, the generator finally kicked the bucket.

“I haven’t had a chance to look at it,” said Joel, who’s now nursing a cold. “It might be the end of my generator – sitting there by the water in the cold, I don’t think it was very good for it.”

Ah, but it was worth it. For days, photos of the bridge sprouted on social media throughout the area. And Joel, much to his surprise, couldn’t go anywhere without being stopped by “five, six, seven, sometimes 10” people who just wanted to thank him for, as FDR himself put it all those years ago, the thrill of his creative effort.

“I couldn’t be happier,” Joel said. “I really wasn’t expecting this kind of approval or attention, but I’m really glad that people liked it. It makes you feel good to do something and have everyone enjoy it.”
At the same time, the lights provided moments for reflection. Joel dedicated the whole project to two women on Campobello who passed away over the last year – Sandra Phinney, his mother-in-law, and Debbie Anthony, the “really, really sweet” mother of a close friend.

Even now, as Lubec leads us into another dark winter, there’s talk of bringing the lights back next year. Joel said he’s game, although he wouldn’t mind a little help with the logistics. He’s also thinking about going solar next time – let Mother Nature pick up where his generator left off.

But there’s plenty of time for all that. All that matters right now is that on the far eastern edge of Maine, Christmas of 2021 will not be remembered for the isolation, yearning and, yes, tragic loss that leave us all so numb to the passage of time.

In tiny Lubec, it was the year the lights came on.

Sign at entrance to Baxter State Park??

Sign at entrance to Baxter State Park??

Yup, it’s a “Kids don’t try this at home!”kinda place. Always funny when City Folk think the trails are like the ones in Central Park, and often it doesn’t end well.

Still chuckling over a voicemail we got yesterday while we were out for the morning. It was Central Maine Power, our local electric utility, who called for the first time ever to tell us that our power outage was due to a car crash and would power would be restored around 10:30. Then the caller expressed her extreme sorrow for this "inconvenience."

I was totally dumbfounded, as this wasn't the first power outage we've had over the 12 years we've been here, but the first time CMP ever apologized. It's no surprise to anyone that in a heavily forested state like Maine with the vast majority of its power funneled over lines strung across poles instead of underground, that there would be outages caused by car crashes and falling trees/limbs. The funniest thing was that only folks with standby generators to run their answering machines like we do would get the message unless they were home to answer the phone.

So why the abject apology? CMP is the lowest ranked power company in the US for customer satisfaction and there is an impending citizen's ballot initiative to be voted on come November for Maine to buy out all the individual power companies in the state and set up a consumer-owned power company. Personally I'm very leery of this initiative, since I'm not at all confident the state could do a better job, but sure looks like CMP is scared chitless...

[HEADING=2]Bill Nemitz: His light-bulb moment brightened an otherwise dark Christmas[/HEADING]
[pressherald.com/2022/01/02/his-light-bulb-moment-brightened-an-otherwise-dark-christmas/]('https://www.pressherald.com/2022/01/02/his-light-bulb-moment-brightened-an-otherwise-dark-christmas/')

By Bill Nemitz January 2, 2022

There are dreamers, and then there are doers. And every once in a while, along comes a guy who’s both.
...

Off Joel went to the Walmart Supercenter in Calais, where he plunked down $400 of his own money for some 2,000 feet of LED Christmas lights.

...

Growing up, I spent every August on an island on Big Lake, near Grand Lake Stream, 30 minutes inland from Calais. If we needed something more than was available in a General Store, like a new pump for our water tower, we would drive to Calais, which was a pretty "small town out out of the 50's" kind of place. I can't believe there's a Walmart supercenter there now! Childhood ruined.

Ice Disc is BACK!!! Maybe I'll take the Admiral for a ride to see it this year...

[HEADING=2]Westbrook’s famed ice disk returns to Presumpscot River[/HEADING]
[pressherald.com/2022/01/11/westbrooks-famed-ice-disk-returns-to-presumpscot-river/]('https://www.pressherald.com/2022/01/11/westbrooks-famed-ice-disk-returns-to-presumpscot-river/')

By Gillian Graham January 11, 2022

The moment fans of Westbrook’s world famous ice disk have been waiting for is here: The disk appears to be reforming.

Westbrook officials shared a photo Tuesday on Facebook of a thin disk of ice floating on the blue water of the Presumpscot River.

Back in January 2019, a previous ice disk captured worldwide attention during a [two-week spin in the river]('https://www.pressherald.com/2019/01/27/ice-disk-slips-into-obscurity/'). That disk was about 100 yards wide and rotated counterclockwise on the surface of the river. Its presence [drew crowds of people]('https://www.pressherald.com/2019/01/25/ice-disk-heats-up-mid-winter-business-in-westbrook/?rel=related') to the city. At one point, a [New Jersey man]('https://www.pressherald.com/2019/01/24/westbrooks-ice-disk-has-a-visitor/?rel=related') with a history of staging public stunts caused outrage when he carved a peace sign into the disk.

The phenomenon is believed to result from a combination of current and a vortex beneath the ice, the result of a column of cold water sinking to the bottom of the river at the center of the circle. As the ice sheets spin, they are shaped by the surrounding ice into perfectly symmetrical circles. Ice disks rarely spin in high-profile locations like downtown Westbrook, and they usually aren’t so large.

The 2019 disk-peepers were a boon for Westbrook businesses during the slow winter season. Local businesses served up coffee, meals and special cocktails to people who drove hundreds of miles to see the natural phenomenon. The Westbrook House of Pizza created an Ice Disk pizza with Alfredo sauce, while Roots Cafe baked up a special cupcake topped with a sugar cookie disk and white buttercream frosting. Disk-peepers sipped on Ice Disk cosmos at Legends Rest Taproom and floating lime disk margaritas at Fajita Grill.

The disk attracted worldwide media attention with reports by the BBC, U.S. television networks, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post and The New York Times, among others.

The 2019 ice disk [stopped turning]('https://www.pressherald.com/2019/01/23/the-westbrook-ice-disk-is-dead-in-the-water-again/?rel=related') when the air temperature dipped into the single digits and it stuck to surrounding ice. The disk shrank as warmer temperatures and rain arrived. A webcam mounted on a nearby building at the request of Brown University allowed researchers to document the ice disk in its dormant state.

Rotating ice disks have been reported in the U.S. since at least 1895, when Scientific American published a short submission from a Bedford, New York, man who spotted a disk lazily turning in the river. Spinning disks of varying size appear periodically during winter months in colder climates in North America and Europe, and have been the subject of speculation for years, appearing in rivers and streams but never lakes or ponds.

Looks better live. :)

These "Island Wars" have been going on for a while. The "Seavey Island" battle with NH was important to Maine in that Seavey Island is the home of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, so that ruling meant mucho $$ for Maine, and a very pissed off shipyard employed personal friend who lives in income and sales tax free Portsmouth, but has to pay Maine non-resident income taxes. At least as a happy impact of the pandemic and working from home, he's been legally pimping Maine for a couple of years not...

[HEADING=2]Mapping error raises question about location of 9 islands[/HEADING]
[pressherald.com/2022/01/30/mapping-error-raises-question-about-location-of-9-islands/]('https://www.pressherald.com/2022/01/30/mapping-error-raises-question-about-location-of-9-islands/')

Associated Press January 30, 2022

BANGOR — The Maine Legislature is getting involved in a dispute over which county can claim a string of coastal islands.

Waldo County officials say a 70-year-old mapping error led to nine small islands being considered part of Knox County, and the mistake has been repeated in the decades since then, the Bangor Daily News reported.

“The mistake just kept getting perpetuated and everybody believed it. So all we’re trying to do is get it resolved,” Waldo County EMA Director Dale Rowley told the newspaper. “We’re just trying to correct the record.”

Work on resolving the matter stalled during the pandemic, Knox County Administrator Andrew Hart said, but it resurfaced because of a bill from Sen. Chip Curry, D-Belfast, that aims to clarify the border.

A legislative committee this month instructed the two counties to try to reach an agreement on the facts. A meeting between the counties is tentatively scheduled for early February.

The islands are considered part of Maine’s Unorganized Territory. Only one of them, Lasell Island, has any buildings on it.

Despite appearing on the map as being in Knox County, Waldo County receives about $3,000 from the state for property taxes collected on the islands each year.

The islands make up the southern end of the Islesboro archipelago. Islesboro, a town comprising Islesboro Island and several smaller islands, is part of Waldo County.

“These islands were always a part of Waldo and then some guy in 1941 draws a line in the wrong location and the error, the mistake, has been carried forward ever since,” Rowley said.

Such island disputes happen, but they’re rare.

Both Maine and Canada claim Machias Seal Island, which has led to fishing disputes. A battle between Maine and New Hampshire over Seavey Island went to the U.S. Supreme Court, with a victory for Maine.

NY has it's Windshield Washer folks on the streets. We in Maine scoff at you!! We have Moose Snow Removal!!!

Top that one!!!

[MEDIA=youtube]qdduvBvEJds[/MEDIA]

Not trying to top that but this is also real.

. [MEDIA=youtube]wfL1HFmfI7k[/MEDIA]

These "Island Wars" have been going on for a while. The "Seavey Island" battle with NH was important to Maine in that Seavey Island is the home of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, so that ruling meant mucho $$ for Maine, and a very pissed off shipyard employed personal friend who lives in income and sales tax free Portsmouth, but has to pay Maine non-resident income taxes. At least as a happy impact of the pandemic and working from home, he's been legally pimping Maine for a couple of years not...

[HEADING=2]Mapping error raises question about location of 9 islands[/HEADING]
[pressherald.com/2022/01/30/mapping-error-raises-question-about-location-of-9-islands/]('https://www.pressherald.com/2022/01/30/mapping-error-raises-question-about-location-of-9-islands/')

Associated Press January 30, 2022

BANGOR — The Maine Legislature is getting involved in a dispute over which county can claim a string of coastal islands.

Waldo County officials say a 70-year-old mapping error led to nine small islands being considered part of Knox County, and the mistake has been repeated in the decades since then, the Bangor Daily News reported.

“The mistake just kept getting perpetuated and everybody believed it. So all we’re trying to do is get it resolved,” Waldo County EMA Director Dale Rowley told the newspaper. “We’re just trying to correct the record.”

Work on resolving the matter stalled during the pandemic, Knox County Administrator Andrew Hart said, but it resurfaced because of a bill from Sen. Chip Curry, D-Belfast, that aims to clarify the border.

A legislative committee this month instructed the two counties to try to reach an agreement on the facts. A meeting between the counties is tentatively scheduled for early February.

The islands are considered part of Maine’s Unorganized Territory. Only one of them, Lasell Island, has any buildings on it.

Despite appearing on the map as being in Knox County, Waldo County receives about $3,000 from the state for property taxes collected on the islands each year.

The islands make up the southern end of the Islesboro archipelago. Islesboro, a town comprising Islesboro Island and several smaller islands, is part of Waldo County.

“These islands were always a part of Waldo and then some guy in 1941 draws a line in the wrong location and the error, the mistake, has been carried forward ever since,” Rowley said.

Such island disputes happen, but they’re rare.

Both Maine and Canada claim Machias Seal Island, which has led to fishing disputes. A battle between Maine and New Hampshire over Seavey Island went to the U.S. Supreme Court, with a victory for Maine.