Northwest Cove downgraded to “conditionally approved,” with rain-triggered closures expected this year. Plus, upcoming cleanups and briefs.

Carrie Jones

Apr 21, 2026

The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Edward Jones Financial Advisor: Elise N. Frank.

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BAR HARBOR—It looks as if the efforts of volunteers and town staff cleaning up Hadley Point have worked.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources recently had positive news for the town’s shoreland water quality, particularly at Hadley Point, a town-owned site with a small beach that has been used for both recreational and commercial purposes.

Twelve of the town’s 16 monitoring stations are safe enough for the state to approve or conditionally approve them for shellfish harvesting.

Hadley Point, which had worried many harvesters because of last year’s scores, has stayed as an approved site.

Water quality by Mount Desert Narrows, near Thompson Island has improved. It is currently a conditionally approved site.

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LAST YEAR’S CLEAN-UP

“One dog poop can shut down the size of an American football field,” Fiona de Koning explained last year about Hadley Point.

She is the co-owner of Hollander & de Koning, a sixth-generation family-owned and run mussel farm.

“You can’t be harvesting filter feeders when there’s poop around,” Mount Desert Island native Joanna Fogg said.

Fogg co-founded Bar Harbor Oyster Company, a 22-acre oyster farm in Mount Desert Narrows.

The issue for both of these businesses and anyone who harvests shellfish in the area was that if dogs and other animals defecate on the beach and it’s not cleaned up, that fecal matter mixes in with the ocean.

And that?

That is a big deal when it comes to the state gathering data as well as when it comes to the water quality in the area.

If the state shuts down the beach and the area nearby, it would be devastating for the businesses, particularly de Koning’s which is closer to the beach. Her business employs 19 people. Fogg’s employs 11.

The women, who are also part of the town’s Marine Resources Committee, worked with their staff and other committee members to clean up the beach last year. The committee also worked with the town about increased signage and waste containers in the area and other efforts to help keep it cleaner.

Some town property owners, the Bar Harbor Town Council, staff and others have also talked about potentially changing the town’s ordinances which regulate the commercial use of public property, such as Hadley Point, not because of water quality (or its potential degradation), but with more of a focus on access for residents after some nearby property owners complained.

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HOW THE STATE DATA WORKS

The water quality is studied via multiple monitoring stations, not just on Mount Desert Island and Bar Harbor, but all along the Maine coast.

Data collected allowed the state to give each portion of the shoreline a P-90 score (“90th percentile of fecal coliform bacterial monitoring data” according to the state). Shellfish harvesting is then allowed—or not—based on the score. If the score is over 31, the area is closed.

An area that has a score near that 31 becomes what the state calls “conditionally approved.” That status means that the state can temporarily close the area if certain conditions are met. Typically the DMR closes a site for two-weeks if there has been more than an inch of rainfall in 24 hours.

Last year, Hadley Point’s score hovered around 28.5.

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NORTHWEST COVE AND OTHER SITES

The site that has been downgraded is Northwest Cove, which is now conditionally approved rather than approved.

According to the state’s shellfish closures and monitoring maps, areas in the town that are still closed to harvesting include the town’s boat ramp by Ell’s pier, which is in Bar Harbor proper off West Street; Hulls Cove; the area by Ireson Hill; and the area of the Bar and Acadia National Park’s Bar Island, which rests in the Town of Gouldsboro.

Bar Harbor has a five-year average of just over 2,000 pounds of soft-shell clam landings. Nearby Trenton has over 12,000 for its five-year average.

According to the Bureau of Public Health’s investigative report, “Water quality scores calculated at the end of 2025 are mostly good. One sample station failed to meet approved standards, station EG25 which monitors Northwest Cove. The proposed downgrade will be a conditional area with a 1” rainfall trigger and will close for 14 days. Station EI34.3, which monitors Thomas Bay, met approved standards year-round and is eligible to be upgraded from Conditionally Approved to Approved. However, the score of 27.4 cfu/100mL is near the limit of 31 cfu/100mL, and the area is at risk of being downgraded in the future. Station EI34, which monitors Hadley Point, met approved standards, however the score of 28.5 cfu/100mL is near the limit of 31 cfu/100mL, and the area is at risk of being downgraded in the future.”

Cfu stands for colony-forming-unit and mL stands for milliliter.

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UPCOMING LOCAL CLEANUPS

Friends of Acadia is hosting its 25th Annual Earth Day Roadside Cleanup on April 25. The cleanup will be from 8:30-11:30 a.m. This long-running volunteer event brings people together to help care for Acadia National Park’s surrounding communities by picking up trash that has gathered over the winter.

The Town of Trenton’s Earth Day roadside cleanup is also on April 25, for the same times. People can sign up at the town office in Trenton or via Friends of Acadia.

Camp Beech Cliff invites community members to roll up their sleeves and help prepare camp for the season ahead at its annual Volunteer Spring-Clean Up Day on Saturday, May 2, 2026.

Volunteers will assist with a variety of projects, including mulching garden beds, setting up program areas, and sweeping walkways—there’s something for all ages and abilities. Camp staff and board members will be working alongside volunteers from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., rain or shine.

Families are encouraged to participate; children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult. Lunch will be provided for all volunteers. There is no cost to attend, but registration is required at www.campbeechcliff.org to ensure an accurate lunch count.

For more information about the CBC cleanup, please contact Kat Murphy, Events & Outreach Coordinator, at 207-244-0365 or kat@campbeechcliff.org.

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LINKS TO LEARN MORE

The DMR Map

Maine’s beach advisory status updates

MaineDMR Public Health – P90 Scores 2024

Bar Harbor’s Marine Resources Committee

Before clamming in any area in Bar Harbor (or anywhere) you should check to make sure the area is open.

Call the Department of Marine Resources Maine Red Tide and Shellfish Sanitation Hotline 1-800-232-4733 or 207-633-9571 with any other questions.

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