The Maine island town of Isle au Haut is set to facilitate the sale of a small peripheral islet that has sat unused for years with a buyer already lined up.
Isle Au Haut, which is one of the most remote communities in Penobscot Bay, is mostly made up of the eponymous island, lying 7 miles from the mainland. But it all includes many other islands marked by their rocky shorelines.
Officials have been looking to offload Moxie Island, a tiny treed-in outcropping near the town’s ferry pier. Moxie was formerly owned by the Isle au Haut Lobsterman’s Association. Following tax liens in 2018 and 2020, the 0.37-acre island and a building were taken by the town.
The previous owners are looking to reform the Association with the aim of paying off the back taxes, repossessing the island and selling to a local fisherman who has expressed interest, Selectman Mike Fedosh said. He did not name the potential budget nor knew a price.
“So it’s not, like, going out for sale,” he said.
Fedosh said the new buyer plans to use the island as a fishing support pier. More than a third of the town’s 73 year-round residents make their living lobstering, according to the Island Institute. The rest work in construction and retail, largely serving tourists visiting the lesser-known patch of Acadia National Park.
Satellite images show the Moxie Island already has a pier-like structure on it, though the property has not been used in several years, Tax Collector Lisa Turner said.
Turner was not aware of the plans for the island, but she confirmed that she has not received any payment for the back taxes owed on the property.
Daniel O’Connor is a Report for America corps member who covers rural government as part of the partnership between the Bangor Daily News and The Maine Monitor, with additional support from BDN and Monitor readers.
The photo attached to this article is being used under a Creative Commons license.
