Living in Maine today, it’s easy to forget that the state didn’t always look like this. A hiking trip didn’t include folks attaching a Go-Pro to their chest at the trailhead. It didn’t include selfies, or snapping photos along the way to post to Instagram. Life was different in the 1970s. Whether you remember these days because you lived them or your memories come from hearing vivid stories, the 1970s were a special time. Watergate was all over the newspapers, bell-bottoms were all over the U of Maine and Disco was keeping kids up late. But, not everything was groovy.

In the early 1970s, rapid development made its mark on the American environment. In 1971, the EPA created DOCUMERICA, a photo documentary project that recorded the negative effects of modern life on the environment. Many of these photos are from this project.

1. A Convair CV-600 from the, now defunct, Bar Harbor Airlines fleet.
Jon Proctor / Wikimedia Commons
2. Boats at the working waterfront in Portland, 1978.
Martin Herrick / Flickr
3. Fishing in the Androscoggin River, June 1973.
The U.S. National Archives / Flickr
4. Looking Across the Androscoggin River to the City of Auburn, June 1973.
The U.S. National Archives / Flickr
5. Enjoying the good life on Nahmakanta Lake in the early 1970s.
Vin Crosbie / Flickr
Note: This photo is of father/son duo Arthur and Kevin Crosbie. Arthur was general manager of Connecticut newspaper, The Willimantic Chronical until 1976. Kevin was publisher of the paper until 2012.
6. The MEC caboose trailing through Wisscaset, September 1977.
WES / Flickr
7. The Old Rockport Cemetery with new housing in the background, February 1973.
The U.S. National Archives / Flickr
8. Walter Lawrence, the Rivermaster, at Gulf Island Dam in Lewiston on the Androscoggin River, June 1973.
The U.S. National Archives / Flickr
9. An adventurous duo on Black Sandy Island, in Leeds.
Carl Lender / Flickr
10. Houses in Mexico on the Androscoggin River, June 1973.
The U.S. National Archives / Flickr
11. Winning prizes at the Bangor Maine State Fair, 1976.
Mike Mozart / Flickr
12. International Paper Company Mill at Jay on the Androscoggin River, June 1973.
The U.S. National Archives / Flickr

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