The Swan Island Pier, pictured at right earlier this month, was planned as the pick-up and drop-off spot for Saturday’s land tours of the island, to be held during Richmond Days. But state officials deemed the pier unsafe, and this weekend’s tours have been canceled. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal file

RICHMOND — Guided tours across Swan Island are canceled during this year’s Richmond Days celebration, but people will still have the chance to explore the island on their own on the weekends through August.

Jeremy McDaniel and his wife, Amanda, worked over the past year to reinstate a ferry service to bring passengers over to Richmond’s Swan Island.

The first island tour was scheduled for Saturday, during the town’s annual Richmond Days event. But those who signed up learned in an email Thursday that the event was cancelled after the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife declared the island’s pier unsafe last week.

However, the ferry service will still run on weekends through the end of August by using a different dock.

“The land tours for Richmond Days were cancelled due to the Swan Island pier closure, but the new ferry will run on weekends through the end of the summer to get people to Swan Island,” said Jeremy McDaniel.

In the email sent to the 72 people who signed up, McDaniel explained that the department, which is in charge of maintaining the Steve Powell Wildlife Management Center on Swan Island, closed the Swan Island Pier on the northwest side of the island due to concerns over its structural safety.

Additionally, the McDaniels will not conduct guided tours of the island using a hay wagon, as was planned, based on feedback from state officials.

State officials said they gave the tour providers options that would have allowed the tours to continue this weekend.

However, with one dock off limits and so many people signed up for tours, the tour providers decided it would too difficult to get people safely back and forth from the island.

The 4-mile-long island is 350 feet from the shore of Richmond. For years, a ferry service brought people back and forth from the island to enjoy its campsites and explore the wildlife preserve, but in 2022, the U.S. Coast Guard suspended the service following a failed inspection.

The pier is one of two on the island; the other is the Richmond Pier. The Swan Island Pier was planned as the pick-up and drop-off spot for Saturday’s land tours. McDaniel said the Swan Island Pier is the larger of the two and is made of concrete and wood that has been in disrepair for years.

Mark Latti, spokesperson for the IF&W, said the pier has been closed for over a month with a “no unauthorized boats allowed” sign. Latti said the IF&W on July 11 gave the Friends of Swan Island group, with Jeremy McDaniel as director, two options for continuing this weekend’s planned ferry service.

“The first was to let them know they could use the docks at the campground, and we also let them know that they could dock on the gravel beach next to the pier,” Latti said. “After more requests after the meeting by the Friends of Swan Island to use the unsafe pier, we offered to build and let them use a temporary ramp on the beach to assist those getting off the ferry, but our offer was rejected as it was deemed unsafe by the captain of their ferry.”

Repairs are estimated to cost around $500,000 or higher and to receive the money, the department has to secure it through its budget process.

The point of the ferry service, McDaniel said, is to give more people access to the island.

“Our No. 1 focus has pivoted from historic preservation to now provide equitable access to the island,” said McDaniel. “When it was removed, it created a real inequity to get to the island. For people with boats, or those who want to rent canoes and kayaks can get over, but if you don’t have a boat or means to rent a kayak, or are not comfortable enough to take one out, how do you get there? It’s created a level of inequitable access and we want to restore that.”

Those interested in taking the ferry service out to the island for a fee starting in August can sign up on swanislandmaine.org or contact McDaniel through the Friends of Swan Island Facebook page.