For the first time in nearly three decades, the Harbor Management Commission is updating the Harbor Management Plan. A survey is currently available online, and a public meeting is planned for Monday, April 24, at 6 p.m. in the Clinton Police Department Community Room, 170 East Main Street.

Ask any Clinton resident to name their favorite aspects of living in town, and it won’t take long for them to bring up the waterfront location of the town. Since 1995, the Harbor Management Plan has governed the recreational and commercial uses of the harbor.

Per the town website, “the plan lays out the vision and strategies for how Clinton approaches activities in town waters and adjacent land. Some topics in the plan include maintaining channels for boaters, setting policy for how moorings are permitted, addressing conflicts between active groups in Clinton’s waters, protecting natural resources, and advising on issues such as coastal development and public access to the harbor. “

However, since that plan has not been rewritten since 1995, the Harbor Management Commission has decided to look at revising the document.

“We felt it needed to be updated. There are things that have changed from technology to environmental factors to storm damage, and even the water level has changed,” said Harbor Management Commission Chairman David Adams.

Adams said updating the plan is useful because it lays out information that is helpful to both recreational harbor users and commercial users. “The Harbor Management Plan talks about everything someone who wants to know something about the harbor would want to know about,” Adams said.

For example, Adams said the plan would layout depths of the harbor that recreational boaters can use to determine if their boat will fit in the harbor or if pump-out boats are available. Commercial operations could consult the plan to see details about where the unloading docks are.

A short survey on the town website asks people to share their thoughts on matters ranging from how they use the harbor to safety concerns.

“The survey is for stakeholders whether you own a house on Cedar Island, live in town, or just visit the harbor.”

On the survey, people can rank how important federal anchorage, permitted mooring fields, leased and recreational shellfish beds, water skiing, no wake zones, and natural resource protection areas are. The survey also asks about potentially establishing designated specified use areas. These areas would allow some uses and prohibit others, thus potentially reducing the chance for conflict between uses.

"We get a lot of visitors to our beautiful harbor, so it's important. I would like to encourage everyone to please take the survey,” Adams emphasized.

In addition to the survey, a public meeting is planned for Monday, April 24, to discuss the survey results and the next steps in the process.

In order to help with redoing the plan, Adams said the town applied for and received money for a consultant, work that is already underway. Adams said that he hopes for the commission to have the finalized new harbor management plan in place by the end of 2023.