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 […]
Policy & Advocacy
BirdSafe Maine – Fall 2024 Season Recap!
BirdSafe Maine‘s Fall 2024 migration season concluded on Oct. 31, our fifth fall on the streets. In that time we’ve made some amazing progress in that time—highlighted by a new bird safe architecture ordinance in Portland and a new law to create statewide guidelines—but this fall we enjoyed a very satisfying realization of the effectiveness […]
Voting Resources – 2024
Maine Audubon wants every eligible voter to have the opportunity to cast their ballot this November. Planning ahead can help ensure your participation in this essential aspect of our democracy. ⭐ Election Day 2024 is Tuesday, November 5 ⭐ Below are tools you can use to prepare for the upcoming election, including information on registering to vote […]
A Huge Opportunity for Maine Trails on the Ballot this November
Trails are essential to our enjoyment and appreciation of the outdoors. Maine Audubon offers dozens of miles of trails across our eight centers and sanctuaries, allowing visitors to access diverse habitats while diverting traffic from sensitive areas. But trails take a lot of work. Many people think that the more primitive a trail is, the […]
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 […]
New Statewide Shoreland Harvesting Standards Set to Take Effect Soon
Shoreland areas – those places adjacent to wetlands, streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes – are incredibly important for fish, wildlife, and water quality. We know that around 85% of vertebrate wildlife in Maine use shoreland areas some time during the year for hiding, nesting, denning, feeding, and traveling, and that a dense cover of herbs, […]
New Report Outlines Escalating Impacts of Climate Change in Maine
For more than 40 years I have dedicated my professional career to protecting and improving the lives of our sacred wildlife. For nearly as long, I have been aware of the threats that a warming world poses to wildlife, the environment, and humankind. But I never imagined I would witness the dramatic changes we have […]
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 […]
Portland City Council Passes Bird-Friendly Buildings Ordinance
Bird-glass collisions kill up to one billion birds in the U.S. each year, and BirdSafe Maine has been working since 2020 to understand the problem in Maine. We’ve done a lot in that short time, including our recent awards, our statewide legislation, school curriculum, years of collision monitoring, and numerous pre- and post-construction consultations. We’ve […]