Editing Cobscook Bay

{{Short description|Bay in Maine, United States}}
[[File:CobscookBay.jpg|thumb|right|Looking west into Cobscook Bay from [[Shackford Head State Park]] in Eastport]]
'''Cobscook Bay''' is located in [[Washington County, Maine|Washington County]] in the state of [[Maine]].  It opens into Passamaquoddy Bay, within the [[Bay of Fundy]]. Cobscook Bay is immediately south of the island city of [[Eastport, Maine|Eastport]], the main island of which (Moose Island) straddles the two bays.  In the 1930s, Cobscook Bay was part of the aborted Passamaquoddy Bay Tidal Power Project (a.k.a., ''Quoddy Dam Project'') to generate electricity from its large tidal range.

==Geography==
Cobscook Bay is a large bay in Washington County, Maine that opens into Passamaquoddy Bay within the Bay of Fundy through a relatively narrow opening. It is about {{convert|10|mi}} long and 10 wide and has a long, convoluted coastline with many islands. The mouth of the bay is bracketed by the island city of [[Eastport, Maine|Eastport]], which is principally on [[Moose Island, Maine|Moose Island]], and by the town of [[Lubec, Maine|Lubec]]. Other townships around the bay are [[Perry, Maine|Perry]], [[Pembroke, Maine|Pembroke]], [[Dennysville, Maine|Dennysville]], [[Edmunds, Maine|Edmunds]], and [[Tresscott, Maine|Tresscott]].<ref name=focusarea>{{cite web |url=http://www.maine.gov/doc/nrimc/mnap/focusarea/cobscook_bay_focus_area.pdf |title=Cobscook Bay |publisher=Maine Government |accessdate=2012-12-25}}</ref> There are about 7,000 people living in the nine communities in the area, many of whom are fishermen or work in fish farming, shipping or tourism. There is a [[scallop]] fishery here.<ref name=Resource/>

The bay is both [[Geology|geologically]] and [[Hydrology|hydrologically]] complex. The tide has an average range of {{convert|18.4|ft}} (and range that can exceed 26 feet) and there are strong currents as large volumes of sea water flow into and out of the bay twice a day.<ref name=focusarea/> The bay is very shallow with the average depth being about {{convert|10|m}} and about one third of its area is exposed at low water.<ref name=Resource>{{cite web |url=http://www.cobscook.org/ |title=Cobscook Bay Resource Center |accessdate=2012-12-27}}</ref> The volume of freshwater entering from streams is relatively small and the nutrient rich waters support a great diversity of [[phytoplankton]] and [[algae]]. These support a [[Biodiversity|biodiverse]] community of [[fish]], [[Bivalvia|shellfish]], [[Polychaeta|marine worms]] and other [[invertebrate]]s. Many birds feed on these and the bay is an important visiting place for [[Bird migration|migrating]] birds and [[waterfowl]].<ref name=focusarea/>

The area surrounding the bay is well-timbered, but as well as forests there are streams, lakes, bogs, marshes and mudflats interspersed by a network of trails.<ref name=CoC>{{cite web |url=http://cobscookbay.com/images/brochure2012.pdf |title=Down East: The nature of Maine |publisher=Cobscock Bay Area Chamber of Commerce |accessdate=2012-12-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901082907/http://cobscookbay.com/images/brochure2012.pdf |archive-date=2013-09-01 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Cobscook Bay State Park]] takes up part of the shore of the bay.

==History==
[[File:Eastport Museum Quoddy Dam Project Exhibit 16 31 46 151000.jpeg|thumb|Eastport Museum Quoddy Dam Project Exhibit|right]]
Communities around the bay were traditionally involved in shipbuilding, logging, farming, fishing and trading.<ref name=CoC/>

In 1935, a proposal by [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|FDR]] friend and engineer Dexter Cooper<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1938/02/03/96793502.pdf|title=D. P. COOPER DEAD; 'QUODDY'S' FATHER; Engineer Who Sponsored Vast Power Project a Leading Hydraulic Expert|access-date=2018-08-07|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.mainebiz.biz/article/20090908/CURRENTEDITION/309089998/surging-ahead-%7C-wind-power's-not-the-only-game-in-town-portland's-orpc-is-making-waves-with-its-tidal-energy-technology|title=Surging ahead {{!}} Wind power's not the only game in town. Portland's ORPC is making waves with its tidal energy technology.|work=Mainebiz|access-date=2018-08-07|language=en-US}}</ref> to build a [[Barrage (dam)|barrage]] to harness the power of the tides in the area was inititiated. The Quoddy Dam Project was envisaged to impound the waters of Cobscook Bay and the adjoining Passamaquoddy Bay. Construction was started and some dikes were built, but a year later, the [[United States Congress]] withdrew its support and funding and the scheme was abandoned. The Quoddy Dam Model Museum at Eastport preserves a large model of the project.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=Museum>{{cite web |url=http://www.borderhistoricalsociety.com/quoddydammusuem.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226103615/http://www.borderhistoricalsociety.com/quoddydammusuem.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=February 26, 2012 |title=Quoddy Dam Model Museum  |publisher=Border Historical Society |accessdate=December 27, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/10/us/turbine-to-harness-the-tides-to-generate-power.html|title=Turbine to Harness the Tides to Generate Power|last=Bidgood|first=Jess|access-date=2018-08-07|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://newengland.com/yankee-magazine/travel/maine/eastport-maine-tidal-project/|title=Eastport, Maine Tidal Project|website=newengland.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-08-07}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/f-d-r-s-brief-dip-into-tidal-energy/|title=F.D.R.'s Brief Dip Into Tidal Energy|last=Fountain|first=Henry|work=Green Blog|access-date=2018-08-07|language=en}}</ref>

The generation of electricity from the bay's tidal currents was ultimately accomplished in September 2012 by [[Ocean Renewable Power Company]].<ref name=Woodard2>{{cite news |title=Maine tidal turbine goes online, first in North America |author=Woodard, Colin |url=http://www.pressherald.com/ORPC-turbine-off-Eastport-is-the-first-to-do-so-in-North-America.html  |newspaper=Portland Press Herald |date=September 13, 2012 |accessdate=January 1, 2013}}</ref> A turbine was installed in Cobscook Bay at the boundary of Eastport and Lubec capable of generating 180&nbsp;kW of electricity, and was the first North American commercial tidal energy project to supply power to the electrical grid.<ref name=Woodard2/> The turbines did not need dams to function and were mounted on the sea bed. The turbine blades spin slowly in the current and testing seems to indicate they are harmless to marine life. Two more turbines were planned for installation in the bay within a year's time.<ref name=Woodard>{{cite news |title=Maine company leading way as tidal energy comes of age |author=Woodard, Colin |url=http://www.pressherald.com/news/maine-company-leading-way-as-tidal-energy-comes-of-age_2012-07-22.html |newspaper=Portland Press Herald |date=July 22, 2012 |accessdate=December 27, 2012}}</ref>

==Ecology==
This coastal area is home to many resident birds. One of these is the [[bald eagle]] (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') and Cobscook Bay has more pairs of these rare birds per square mile than the rest of Maine. It also houses 25% of the state's [[American black duck|black duck]] (''Anas rubripes'') population. In the fall, the bay is used by large numbers of birds migrating southwards from their summer breeding grounds. Rare species of bird to be seen here include the [[harlequin duck]] (''Histrionicus histrionicus''). An invertebrate of special concern is the mystery snail (''[[Vertigo paradoxa]]''), an air-breathing land snail.<ref name=focusarea/> In the summer several species of whale enter the bay, including the [[minke]], [[fin whale]] and [[right whale]].<ref name=Resource/>

==Conservation==
Efforts are being made to preserve the biodiversity of the bay. A {{convert|250|ft|adj=on}} buffer zone has been created adjacent to the foreshore where no development is allowed. The alewife ''(Alosa pseudoharengus)'' is a species of anadromous fish which goes upstream to spawn. Efforts are being made to enable these fish to reach their traditional spawning grounds in the upper waters of the [[Pennamaquan River]], Little River and Boyden Stream. These fish are thought to be important in the bay's ecosystem by providing food for the eagles.<ref name=focusarea/>

==Other uses of the name==
"Cobscook Bay" is also the title of a song by [[The Mountain Goats]] from their EP ''Isopanisad Radio Hour.''

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

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[[Category:Bays of Washington County, Maine]]
[[Category:Bays of Maine]]