A recent cross-country ski outing got Conservation Director Sally Stockwell musing about land use and land use planning in Maine. This is adapted from a column written for GrowSmart Maine: Last month, just as the dawn was breaking on the shortest day of the year, I clipped into my Nordic skis and went for a […]
Habitat Connectivity
Large-scale solar development rush must strike delicate balance
This essay was published in the Portland Press Herald as a Maine Voices opinion piece on August 11, 2020.� It’s an exciting time for solar energy in Maine. Tux Turkel’s August 5th article in the Portland Press Herald set the stage well: Market conditions have aligned with recent legislation enacted to spur renewable energy development […]
Maine Audubon Statement on NECEC Project, July 2020
Since 2018, Maine Audubon has engaged with Central Maine Power’s (CMP) New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) project, sharing our concerns with CMP and its parent company, Avangrid, and providing recommendations for avoiding, minimizing, and compensating for the project’s impacts on wildlife and habitats, as well as providing extensive public comment to the Maine Department […]
Good luck, young salmon!
If you’ve followed along with our adventures in salmon-rearing in previous years, you know that May is when we typically release our Atlantic Salmon fry into the Presumpscot River watershed. Of course, this year has been anything but typical, with participants in the Fish Friends program scrambling to adapt to school closures and stay at […]
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Provides Grant to Track Species of Greatest Concern in New England
A major grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) will enable a New England research partnership to dramatically expand a revolutionary new migration tracking system across New England. The three-year, Competitive State Wildlife Grant of $998,000 will be matched by $355,500 in private funds. The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is the […]
Maine Audubon Comments on DEP Draft Order for NECEC project
In early March, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a draft order approving Central Maine Power’s (CMP) New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) project with conditions, requiring CMP to agree to significant, additional actions to minimize and compensate for the project’s impacts before the DEP issues a final permit. Maine Audubon staff previously […]
BIG NIGHT: Amphibians are on the move!
Greetings! I hope everyone is staying safe and well in these crazy times. I wanted to reach out, because we may finally be coming into amphibian movement time! Looking out the window as well as at the forecast for both the Falmouth area and the Holden area, we have a stretch of warm rain today […]
A Legislative Update in these shifting times
Due to concerns related to the coronavirus, the Maine Legislature adjourned on March 17, weeks ahead of schedule. Though we’re disappointed that a lot of important environmental policy was left on the table, we fully support this difficult decision, made in the best interests of Maine lawmakers and Maine people. The Legislature may reconvene to […]
Initial reaction to DEP draft approval for NECEC project
On March 13, 2020, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a draft order approving Central Maine Power’s (CMP) New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) project with conditions. Maine Audubon staff previously provided extensive public comment to the DEP, focusing on the proposed project’s impacts on wildlife and habitat. Our comments demonstrated that NECEC, […]