Lubec, Maine

Shellfish Committee

Problem

Public assets—parks, greens, waterways, buildings—slip into neglect, privatization, or misuse when no one clearly owns their care.

Solution

The Lubec Shellfish (Conservation) Committee is a town-appointed body in Lubec, Maine (population 1,237 in 2020) that manages soft-shell clam harvesting on the town's flats under a municipal shellfish ordinance enacted in 2015 and last amended in 2023, with a part-time shellfish warden. It meets monthly at 6 p.m. at the Town Office, publishes a two-page Shellfish Management Plan on the town website and with the Maine DMR, issued 58 resident licenses in 2026, and in 2026 ran its first clam seeding trial, a rotating flat closure plan at Woodward Point, and work events such as netting removal and green crab and moon snail removal.

Patterns used: Commons Stewardship

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