Maine’s Department of Inland Fish & Wildlife (DIFW) recently completed an update of its Species of Special Concern list, and added three rare and unusual insects known as flower flies. The state maintains a list of Species of Special Concern, which it defines as “any species of fish or wildlife that does not meet the […]
Endangered/Threatened Species
Maine Audubon and the Next 50 Years of the Endangered Species Act
On Nov. 16, Maine Audubon’s Advocacy Team traveled to Harvard Law School as invitees to a conference called The Endangered Species Act: The Next 50 Years. The event was billed as a place to “bring together scholars, policymakers, and conservationists who will collaborate to assess lessons learned and propose innovative strategies for the next 50 […]
Making a Wildlife Plan of Action
Maine, along with every other state in the nation, is embarking on a herculean effort to update its 2015 State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP), required by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to access hundreds of thousands of dollars through the State Wildlife Grants program. The purpose of the SWAP, per Congress, is to keep […]
What the Supreme Court’s Chevron Deference Ruling Means for Our Work
In late June 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on a case with the potential for outsized impacts on the work that Maine Audubon does. The majority decision for Loper Bright Enterprises et al. v. Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce, et al. overturned a longstanding doctrine giving federal agencies the “benefit of the doubt” when executing […]
Let’s Give Least Terns Some Love!
While we often focus on our Piping Plover friends, another endangered species we protect is Least Terns. Least Terns are small seabirds listed as endangered in Maine; they were the first species listed under Maine’s own Endangered Species Act. Least Terns and their more abundant cousins, Common Tern, can often be seen flying gracefully over […]
The Piping Plovers’ Favorite Habitat
By Erin Campbell, Coastal Birds Biologist The Coastal Birds Crew is about to head into its fourth week of the season! Not only have we learned how to spot the Piping Plovers, but also track and complete the ultimate egg hunt. That’s right! Nests are back on Maine’s southern beaches. While some plovers are still […]
Day One with the 2024 Coastal Birds Crew
Hello there from the 2024 Coastal Birds Crew! The season is off to a busy start and everyone on the crew has been excited to dive right into work — protecting our rare beach-nesting birds. On our first day on the beaches, we headed down to Ogunquit Beach and fenced along the entire dune edge. […]
Will storm damage to dunes affect plover nesting season?
A question we have been getting a lot with the heavy storms pummeling Maine�s coastlines this winter: How will the Piping Plovers manage the upcoming nesting season with the beaches so damaged? What a great question! Finally, fellow plover biologist Laura Williams and I were able to get away from our desks March 12 and […]
Summer Summary: Record breeding plover pairs but lower fledgling numbers
Another summer, another record-breaking year: For the sixth consecutive season, in 2023 we saw a record high number of breeding pairs of Piping Plovers on Maine beaches. Maine was home to 157 breeding pairs this nesting season, with some pairs nesting in places never before occupied or that had been vacant for many years. However, […]