One of Maine’s most iconic wildlife species will benefit from a new law signed this week by Governor Mills that phases out the use and sale of small-sized painted lead fishing tackle. Common Loons can accidentally ingest lost or discarded lead tackle when it sinks to the bottom, causing illness and death. This new law […]
Media Release
Join Maine Audubon’s 40th annual loon count on July 15
Early Saturday morning in mid July, on the shores of hundreds of Maine lakes, people are getting coffee and tea, studying maps, prepping their boats, dusting off binoculars, and meeting up with neighbors who they may only see this one time each year: They are getting ready for the Annual Loon Count. For four decades, […]
Seeking Environmental Education Assistants!
Are you a 14- to 17-year-old who wants to spend time exploring outdoors with campers this summer? Do you want to build skills, gain experience, and have fun while volunteering? If so, we hope you�ll apply to be an Environmental Education Assistant (EEA) with Maine Audubon�s summer day camps for children ages 3-9 at Gilsland […]
Broad Support Demonstrated for Bill to Close Loophole in Lead Fishing Tackle Laws
On May 8, advocates gathered to testify at a public hearing before Maine State Legislature’s Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee in support of LD 958, a bill to update existing law to phase out the sale and use of small-sized painted lead jigs to more comprehensively address lead-caused mortalities in Maine’s Common Loons. Lead poisoning […]
Maple Thanksgiving is a Sweet Treat for Portland Kindergarteners
Maple sugaring takes patience–a lesson kindergarten students in Portland Public Schools now know firsthand. Students across the district spent late winter learning about maple trees and maple sugaring, studying maple trees on their school grounds, and in many cases, tapping those trees, as a part of a Wabanaki Studies unit for kindergarten called Maple Thanksgiving. […]
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 […]
Bird Conservation comes to Maine’s Maple Sugarbushes
March is arguably the sweetest month of the year. All throughout Maine, sugarmakers are busy boiling maple sap into syrup. The same forests that make Maine one of the top three maple producing states also support some of the highest diversity of nesting birds in the country. In an effort to bring together Maine’s maple […]
Maine Audubon’s 2022 Loon Count Brings in New Lakes, Counters!
Final results from Maine Audubon’s Annual Loon Count for 2022 estimate that adult loon numbers dipped slightly this year but chick numbers are up! Long-term trends continue to show a strong adult population that has grown steadily over the years, and a stable population of chicks over time. The annual loon count takes place on […]
Old Orchard Beach Chamber of Commerce Names Maine Audubon Nonprofit Organization of the Year
The work of Maine Audubon�s Coastal Birds Crew was in the spotlight last month as the Old Orchard Beach Chamber of Commerce named Maine Audubon the Nonprofit Organization of the Year at a ceremony on October 12. Coastal Birds Project Director Laura Minich Zitske and Biologist Laura Williams accepted the award on behalf of Maine […]