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 […]
News & Notes
Maine Legislature Passes Suite of Bills to Protect Maine�s Lakes
The Maine Legislature this week finalized a set of bills intended to protect and enhance water quality on freshwater lakes and ponds. The bills, each passing with bipartisan support, tackle a variety of emerging freshwater issues, including aquatic invasive species, shoreland zoning, and wake boats. “Our freshwater lakes and ponds are a core part of […]
Backyard Bird of the Month for April: Brown-headed Cowbird
Brown-headed Cowbirds are easily overlooked among the flocks of returning blackbirds in early spring. They are a similar shape and size to Red-winged Blackbirds, and the males of both species are mostly black. Male Brown-headed Cowbirds have no red or yellow on the wing, and a brown head. Females look completely different; they are a […]
Managing Nature at Home!
Just when we thought it was time to put away the snow tires, we were reminded that March remains predictably unpredictable. This latest snow storm inflicted heavy damage on trees and shrubs across our state. Fortunately, the majority of our resilient native plant communities withstood the heavy ice and snow. These natural disturbances have historically […]
Make Earth Day Matter with Maine Audubon
The first Earth Day took place on April 22, 1970, the brainchild of Gaylord Nelson, a senator from Wisconsin. He wanted to �get the nation to wake up and pay attention to the most important challenge the human species faces on the planet.� Designed as a day to sponsor �teach-ins� at college campuses across the […]
Natural climate solutions offer hope in addressing climate change
If you are reading this blogpost on the Maine Audubon website, you likely: know about climate change and that we are already seeing its effects in the landscape all around us; realize that humans are the historical cause, the greatest ongoing contributors, and the source of all future threats around climate change; and share our […]
Lots of sweet learning at Maple Thanksgiving!
Last week, more than 500 Portland Public School kindergarten students celebrated Maple Thanksgiving by visiting the sugar house at Portland Arts and Technology High School (PATHS). This district-wide fieldwork experience is part of Portland Public School’s Wabanaki Studies & Life Science Curriculum. Leading up to their fieldwork, students have been visiting and tapping a maple […]
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 […]
Susannah Lerman talk to focus on the potential for yards to increase biodiversity
In a recent groundbreaking study titled “Humanity for Habitat: Residential Yards as an Opportunity for Biodiversity Conservation,” Dr. Susannah Lerman and her team of professional ecologists and conservationists have unveiled a paradigm-shifting perspective on urban biodiversity. Published in the esteemed journal BioScience, this research sheds light on the critical role that residential yards play in […]