Paul Bunyan Road Association

good neighbors

PBRA is a community association that supports the seasonal and year-round residents of the Corea by the Sea subdivision.

We’re in the Town of Gouldsboro in downeast Maine.

We may look like a sleepy little community of nature-lovers, but there’s a lot going on here.

Let’s Celebrate Octoberfest!

Get those lederhosen out of mothballs and join us for a little old-fashioned oom-pah-pah.

October 13th, from 2-4 pm at the Dorcas Library Annex (also known as “Dorcas Plus”)

Be sure to look for your Punchbowl invitation via email, and RSVP to Mary Vauthy as soon as you can.

We look forward to seeing you there!

What’s Being Done about Coastal Storm Damage?

The Town of Gouldsboro Coastal Resilience Committee has been working on several projects this year, funded largely by a Community Assistance Grant (CAG) from Maine Governor Janet Mill’s Office, and the previous Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). These programs have allowed the committee to hire engineering and environmental consultants to map and assess coastal vulnerabilities to sea level rise, storm surge and coastal flooding in four harbor areas of the town: Corea, South Gouldsboro, Bunkers and Prospect Harbors. As part of this work, the committee has held public meetings to inform residents about the threat of sea level rise and to garner citizen insights and concerns. The most recent meetings were on May 17 (for South Gouldsboro, Bunkers and Prospect Harbors) and June 14 (for Corea Harbor).

The work on Corea Harbor is the most developed , with plans for permitting of a small stream crossing at the junction of Corea Road and Cranberry Point Road scheduled to be submitted to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) by August. These plans call for raising the road elevation by two feet in order to avoid local flooding. The committee will continue to solicit funding for the actual construction of the crossing. There are also plans in hand for repair work on the Crowley Island Causeway, with construction scheduled for some time in 2026. This work will be funded by Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) monies, administered by the Maine Emergency Management Administration (MEMA). The consultant work on the three other harbors will comprise a long-range plan for increased coastal resiliency and recommendations for public infrastructure improvements and town ordinances to support these improvements.

Go to the Gouldsboro Shore website for more information.

Learn more

Emergency Access Road — Update

Autumn is here and with it, the maintenance of our emergency access road on Grand Marsh Bay continues. On September 12th the overgrown brush on the roadside was cleared, using a tractor and mowing attachment. Thanks goes to Joe Crary of Roaring Brook Road, and his wife Hilly, for their generous donation and Joe’s coordination of this work! This clearing work has typically been done every other year to maintain safe sightlines, and we were overdue for a trimming.

We also removed an old truck tire and large iron grate that had been dumped in the freshwater pond to the east of the culvert years ago—those polluting eyesores had been hanging around for much too long. Low water due to our drought conditions had made them more obvious than they once were.

This season we also accomplished two other pieces of work on the road. In April, Fidium trenched and laid fiber optic cable under the east edge of the road from Corea Road to the utility corridor. Their crew reported that the roadbed itself was in good condition to the depth of two feet where they had trenched. Then in May of 2025, RF Jordan raked, graded and rolled the road. They also added 48 cubic yards of 1-inch minus gravel to the roadbed. This raised the elevation of the road north of the culvert to mitigate flooding, and was used to fill ravels and washboards. While the winter storms of 2024/2025 were not as severe as those of the previous year, the road was in very poor condition before this work was done. We will continue to perfect the timing of this type of maintenance work.

Beavers are not currently resident in the freshwater pond/heath east of the culvert; it appears that the 2023/2024 storms may have driven them from their homes at Sand Cove beach and at the culvert. They may return, in which case our road crew will be organizing a regular clearing schedule for the culvert and discussing structural solutions to the clogging and flooding that the beavers are apt to cause.

This road section is vital to emergency evacuation and response and needs to be maintained in order to be useable. Please consider a donation check to our “Private Road Fund” c/o Tom McKeag, PO Box 183, Prospect Harbor, ME, 04669. If you have any questions or comments about the road, drop me a line at thomas.mckeag@gmail.com.

It’s (Nearly Always) Tick Season!

If you, like this writer, were hoping that a very cold winter would knock the ticks back — sorry. No such luck.

Ticks are a persistent problem in this part of the world, despite the cold winter we just experienced. These summer months of June, July and August are particularly bad. Our “medical reporter” Mary Vauthy has summarized some important information from leading resources to keep you safe this summer.

Winter Harbor Provisions—Good Neighbors!

After years of seriously hard work to bring Winter Harbor Provisions up to its new, well-stocked standard, Bobby and Scott are handing the reins to a new manager.
Ted Sterling has heaps of experience in the food industry, and is being trained by the best. WH Provisions is well-stocked, competitively priced, and they generously donated all the entrees for the 2025 Annual Picnic. A big thanks also goes out to the Goldsteins, without whom none of this would be possible.

Visit them
Gravel Road Capital Campaign

Tom McKeag is doing a great job as the official Road Warrior for the unpaved “orphan” unpaved section of Grand Marsh Bay Road. You’ll be hearing from him, no doubt—he's seeking your annual contributions to the road fund to keep it in good repair.
The road is an important emergency exit route for everyone—please drive slowly to preserve it.

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Schoodic Food Pantry

The 2025 Annual Picnic collected donations for the Schoodic Food Pantry, as is our tradition.
This year we raised $500 which was contributed along with some non-perishable foods.
The Schoodic Food Pantry is doing great work in the area, and are planning a needed expansion.

Visit them
Little Free Library

Did you know there’s a Little Free Library at 769 Paul Bunyan Road? Check it out! Take a book or leave one your neighbors might enjoy.
What's the Scuttlebutt?

Volunteer group Gouldsboro Shore has just published a guide for new folks coming to town, and for residents—whether year-round or seasonal. Check out what the Ellsworth American had to say about this useful and beautiful guide to living in our Working Waterfront Community.

Read online here
Harborside Market Coming Next Season (we hope)

The new Harborside Market and Café next to the post office in Prospect Harbor might be on hold for quite some time, sadly. Proprietors Bobby and Scott are moving out of the area, and it looks as though the property will soon be offered for sale to new owners.
Follow them on Facebook for updates.

Visit them
Grand Marsh Bay Road Repairs

Winter storms and heavy traffic wreaked havoc on the unpaved section of Grand Marsh Bay Road… as usual. We raised enough cash last season to have the road re-graded in late May of 2025.
Please slow down so it can last a while.
And you might consider an annual or semi-annual contribution to the Private Road Fund so we can keep it in good shape.

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Ticks are Dangerous — and Abundant

Warming climates mean it’s nearly ALWAYS tick season here in Maine. But in these summer months you should exercise heightened levels of caution.
Arm yourself against what might be a lifetime of ill effects.

Learn more
Stunning Light Display

Early October 2024 brought a spectacular night sky, with the Northern Lights offering an unforgettable visual treat. We found it amazing how different the colors were through a camera lens, as compared to looking with the naked eye.