JULY 2004

Genesis Releases New Video: Against the Tide:  Halting the Erosion of Maine's Island Communities

Since the early 1900s, the number of Maine islands with year-round communities has dwindled from 300 to 14. Changes in the economy and skyrocketing real estate prices have made it increasingly difficult for working families to preserve a foothold on the islands. The Genesis Community Loan Fund has released a new video that highlights several islands’ efforts to halt the erosion of year-round communities and has launched the Genesis Islands Fund at the Maine Community Foundation to support island-based community development initiatives.

Home to some of the first European settlements in North America, Maine’s islands have contributed much to the infrastructure, economy, and cultural heritage of the United States. However, the very existence of year-round island communities is being eroded by escalating property values, a scarcity of affordable housing and facilities, and uncertainty about the future of fishing in the Gulf of Maine. “I feel like this is a crucial period in history, about whether islands are going to be able to continue. There is enormous change going on,” comments Maine State Representative Hannah Pingree of North Haven.

Several communities have taken steps to address the need for affordable housing and community facilities on their islands. Initiatives on the Cranberry Isles, Frenchboro, Monhegan and Vinalhaven are featured in the video and may offer important lessons for island residents as well as coastal communities struggling with similar issues. As Doug Boynton of Monhegan states, “ Islands are unique laboratories to see how man and nature can work things out together.”

Despite their successes, island projects often have funding gaps that cannot be met through local fundraising alone. In response, Genesis has established the Islands Challenge Fund at the Maine Community Foundation, launched in conjunction with the release of the video. Through this fund individuals and foundations may make contributions that will provide matching funds for local island projects.

For more information about the video, “Against the Tide: Halting the Erosion of Year-Round Island Communities” or about the Genesis Islands Fund at the Maine Community Foundation, contact Liza Fleming-Ives at the Genesis Fund at (207) 563-6073.

 

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