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Maine’s Congressional Delegation Wants Shore Access For Harvesters Near Acadia National Park

Maine’s congressional delegation says legislation is necessary to ensure clam and worm harvesters are allowed to keep plying their trade near Acadia National Park.

U.S. Sens. Angus King, an independent, and Susan Collins, a Republican, are introducing the bill in the U.S. Senate. King says officials with the National Park Service are largely supportive of the legislation, crafted to address shore access by diggers and resolve the process by which Acadia can expand beyond its current boundaries.

“They had some questions about some of the particular provisions, and they wanted to be sure that there was an opportunity for very minor adjustments if there’s a resurvey or something like that,” he says. “Their definition of minor was a lot bigger than ours, so we pushed them back on that, but I think now we’ve got something that everybody can agree on and we’re going to try and move it.”

U.S. Reps. Bruce Poliquin, a Republican, and Chellie Pingree, a Democrat, have introduced a companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.