Hurricane Island, part of the Fox Islands Archipelago in Penobscot Bay, Maine, is approximately 10 miles offshore from Rockland. The 125-acre island is situated at the confluence of the Eastern Maine and Western Maine Coastal Currents. The discharge from the Penobscot River to the north of the island forms a gradient of estuarine and marine habitat. To the southwest, the western Maine coastal current causes water stratification and a zone of upwelling that affects the local ecology, and there is striking diversity in the bedrock geology to the west.  Hurricane Island is perfectly positioned to establish and participate in monitoring studies and research on climate change, fisheries biology and management, and alterations in Penobscot Bay and the wider Gulf of Maine ecosystem.

We have access to a wider range of ecological places than other coastal stations and the singular distinction as the only research station in Penobscot Bay. Some of Hurricane’s particular biotic communities include:

• Lower elevation spruce-fir forest, cattail marsh, granite outcrops, seaside goldenrod/ goosetongue open headland, and rose/bayberry maritime shrubland.

• The subtidal bottom habitat is rugged, high-relief seafloor, dominated by bedrock outcrops with accumulations of coarse-grained sediment in low-lying areas.

• Hurricane is surrounded by a number of ledges with seal haul-out areas.

• Our intertidal zone includes areas with dense rockweed, exposed high-impact beaches, small sand deposits, and artificially built-up granite faces from the quarrying-era. With a tidal range around 9.3 feet, Hurricane contains exposed habitat with crisp zonation to explore intertidal biological processes and the opportunity to observe and collect marine organisms.

Aquaculture Research Site: A 3.2 acre Experimental Research Lease aquaculture farm. On this farm we currently have the capacity to grow five species – sugar kelp, winged kelp, scallops, mussels, and oysters – with options to approve additional species for research purposes. At this time, the aquaculture farm maintains ~10,000 scallops of ages 0-4yo and two lines where sugar kelp is grown annually. A 20’ x 10’ float is being added in 2020 for research and education work space on the farm.

Main Campus: Each year we welcome over 1,300 people to Hurricane, and our facilities have the capacity to house approximately 70 people in our five participant cabins, five wall tents, two yurts, and a 25-person capacity bunkhouse. We currently have three designated conference and teaching facilities: a 20-person capacity classroom, a 70-person capacity meeting room (the Swallow’s Nest, and a 70-person meeting and eating space (the Galley). Our 20-person capacity education Laboratory for grades 6-12 is equipped with field guides, binoculars, water quality testing equipment, compound and dissecting microscopes, transect tapes, dissection equipment, and study skins and skeletons. We have nearly four miles of trails that follow the island's perimeter and cross the ridgeline, offering access to the intertidal zone throughout the entire island and our unique terrestrial ecosystem. Our infirmary is equipped with wilderness medical kits, a bed, and a sink for program participants who become ill. Our staff has a range of wilderness medical training to respond to medical situations, and the central galley building is equipped with an alarm in case of emergency.

**Thoughts on linking to the existing Facilities page or pulling some of that information over to here??