By Ethan Daly, Loon Restoration Team Technician I was recently checking in on one of our new loon nesting raft sites near Gray, Maine. As I stood on the shore, speaking with a volunteer about how to minimize human disturbances to the raft, we watched two paddle boarders weave in between our strategically placed raft […]
Clean Water
Maine Audubon in Augusta: Your 2024 Legislative Summary
The second and final session of the 131st Maine Legislature wrapped up earlier this month and it was nothing short of a whirlwind! Thanks to you, Maine Audubon continued to make great strides to conserve wildlife and habitat in this short legislative session, and we wanted to summarize our efforts with you. The First Session […]
Meet our Fish Migration Tales storytellers!
Each spring, millions of fish return to Maine’s coastal rivers to spawn. For thousands of years, these fish runs have helped people build and sustain communities, economies, and cultures. Over time, dams, pollution, and other threats have fractured habitat and diminished historic numbers and species of migrating fish. As scientists, conservationists, and anglers seek to […]
Campers became Stream Explorers this summer in Auburn
(This is the third guest blog post in our occasional series, Stream Explorers and Youth) This summer at the YMCA of Auburn-Lewiston�s Outdoor Learning and Education Center (OLEC) we had the opportunity to run a Stream Explorers activity as part of our regular summer camp programming. The center is a 97-acre property located in Auburn […]
CoastWise: Working to address tidal crossings with wildlife and habitat in mind
If you’ve ever attended a Stream Smart training, you know that it is a partner-driven outreach and educational program, coordinated by Maine Audubon, that works with contractors, landowners, and other professionals to construct road-stream crossings that maintain fish and wildlife habitat while protecting roads and public safety. You may not have realized that it’s only […]
Exploring Creek Critters in Kindergarten: Caddisflies, Mayflies and Stoneflies, OH MY!
Late in May my class of seven kindergarteners at the Children�s House Montessori School set out to explore the stream at our satellite campus in Rockport. Our small school is located in downtown Camden but since fall 2020, we have spent each autumn and late spring in a 100% outdoor based setting with ample woods, […]
Come visit our centers to see Atlantic Salmon eggs hatching
If you�ve stopped by the nature centers at Fields Pond or Gilsland Farm recently, chances are you may have noticed a few hundred new inhabitants: Atlantic Salmon eggs! Both centers are currently raising endangered Atlantic Salmon through Fish Friends, a program of the Maine Council of the Atlantic Salmon Federation.� These salmon are a far […]
Spring means it’s time to start surveying Maine streams
It�s officially spring so that means it�s time to check on your local streams, explore water quality, and find bugs! We�re kicking off a new Stream Explorer season and recruiting community scientists who can help survey large aquatic insects (macroinvertebrates) in Maine streams. If that sounds interesting to you, there are two ways you can […]
New soft plastic lure project invites anglers to gather data
Have you ever thought about the fish you are catching�or eating? And wondered what that fish had been eating? Soft plastic fishing lures are a popular and common tackle used extensively across Maine. These lures imitate worms, frogs, and other natural baits by moving more freely through the water than a hard plastic lure. Soft […]