Rising property values on Islesboro are changing the dynamics of the island community and threatening its year round population. According to Islesboro’s 2002 comprehensive plan, Islesboro has one of the oldest populations in the state with a median age of 46 years compared to a state average of 38.5 years. Property costs on Islesboro are out-pricing would-be island residents. Young families cannot afford to live on the island; even some schoolteachers are now being forced to commute from the mainland on a daily basis due to the high property costs and lack of affordable rents.
Islesboro’s year-round population saw an increase of 4 percent between 1990 and 2000 compared to a conservative estimate stating nearly a 25 percent gain in seasonal residents. Furthermore, between 1990 and 2000 there was a 23 percent reduction in people age 18 to 44 living on the island.
Steve Miller, Executive Director of Islesboro Island Trust, jokingly said, “Islands are unique; Islesboro has only 7,000 acres and they are not making any more.” Miller shares in a growing concern over the sustainability of the island community.
The threat to islands is not new. “Many islands are suffering and struggling to maintain year round populations,” Miller says. Their resolution, he believes, is crucial to the sustainability of the island community. “You can’t have somebody commute to put out fires or plow roads in the middle of the night,” he said.
One community-based organization, Islesboro Affordable Housing (IAP), is working to help alleviate housing concerns for low and moderate-income families. IAP was conceived in the late 1980s after the island’s first comprehensive plan found a great need within the community for affordable housing. Today, IAP provides eight homes to low and moderate-income families and plans to have a ninth building completed by next fall.
David Thibodeau, an islandschoolteacher for 18 years and an IAP board member, believes that there are many young families with children who would like to live on Islesboro but are unable to do so because of property costs. “Island housing is beyond the reach of most people with a moderate income,” he says. He’s concerned about decreasing school enrollment.
“The horse is already out of the barn” said Billy Boardman, a longtime island resident who echoes the concerns of other island community members. Rising property values on the coast of Maine are a way of life, but the island residents have nowhere to go.
“After the last ferry, you are either on or off the island,” said Boardman, who sees town services being adapted to fit the ferry schedule. “You can’t even check your mail after the last ferry, now that we no longer have a resident postmaster.”
Miller credits much of the success of IAP to the foresight of the 1985 comprehensive plan and to the dedicated volunteers behind IAP. “Volunteerism on Islesboro is huge – there are many local organizations and none would work without a year round population. It makes the town go round,” he remarked.
Nakomis Nelson lives on Islesboro.