Assessment of Sand and Gravel Resources Along the Inner Continental Shelf of Maine
Years 1, 2, Outer Saco Bay:
A Multi-Year Cooperative between the U.S. Minerals Management Service,
the Maine Geological Survey and the University of Maine

Joseph T. Kelley¹
Daniel F. Belknap¹
Kristen Lee¹
Stephen M. Dickson²

¹University of Maine
Department of Earth Sciences
Orono, ME 04469-5790

²Maine Geological Survey
22 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333

Introduction

Beach erosion is arising as a critical and growing issue in southern Maine (Kelley and Anderson, 2000). State law precludes additional protective engineering structures along eroding beaches, leaving beach replenishment as the preferred method to cope with beach loss. Sand and gravel resources on land exist in this area, but transportation to the coast and road repair can add significantly to the expense of replenishment. Inland gravel pits are increasingly regulated in this growing suburban region. Thus, offshore borrow sites of aggregate are the most likely long-term sources of sand and gravel to replenish beaches. Herein we describe the results from Years 1 and 2 from a multi-year cooperative investigation between the Minerals Management Service and the University of Maine and Maine Geological Survey. The overall purpose of the Cooperative is to explore for and better define sand and gravel resources in federal waters offshore of the Maine coast. Years 1 and 2 focus on the sand and gravel resources in outer Saco Bay (Figure 1).

Introduction