Abandoned Boats in the Maine Backcountry

“As I walked into one of my favorite remote brook trout ponds a few weeks back, a fly fishing only State Heritage Fish water on state-owned land, I noticed a small piece of baby blue fiberglass in the trail. I picked it up and examined it. While I wanted to believe otherwise, it was clear that it was from my unserviceable and abandoned canoe that I had dragged up into the woods several years ago, and replaced with a new one.”

— Bob Mallard

If you have ever fished a remote pond in the backcountry of Maine, it’s very likely that you saw one or more abandoned and unserviceable boats along the shore. If you went to the right water, you might have seen a dozen or more.

Chaining boats to trees in the backcountry is a generations old tradition. Unfortunately, so is abandoning them when they are no longer serviceable, the fishery declines; or the owner passes, moves, or can no longer fish for health reasons.

Abandoned boats are bad for the environment. The deteriorate over time, leaving behind Styrofoam pellets as the internal floatation breaks down, which get moved around the forest floor by wind and wildlife. In extreme cases, the fiberglass breaks down, leaving shards of glass strewn around the area.

Even old wooden boats do harm as the wood rots and leaves behind rusty nails, seat hardware, etc.