Approximately 90% of Maine is covered in forestland, making it the most heavily forested state in the nation. Millions of these acres are included in a complex grid of small and large working forest conservation easements. Maine Audubon undertook a detailed assessment of the terms of these easements and conducted an analysis of how well […]
News & Notes
Homeschool Naturalists: Nature Learning Through the Seasons
Busy immersing themselves in the natural world, the Homeschool Naturalists at Fields Pond Audubon Center started the fall session in T-shirts, and ended in down jackets. The dropping temperature wasn’t the only seasonal change these students experienced. This fall’s Homeschool Naturalist program at Fields Pond was packed with curiosity, discovery, and hands-on science! This is […]
Partnering on Wabanaki Studies with Portland Public Schools
Portland Public Schools (PPS) recently announced the content completion and implementation of a Wabanaki Studies curriculum, for which fieldwork is a key component. “In 2001, Maine passed a landmark law — An Act to Require Teaching of Maine Native American History and Culture in Maine Schools (Chapter 403, Title 20-A MRSA 4706). Commonly known as […]
Maine Audubon Achieves Service Enterprise Certification from Volunteer Maine
On December 1, Volunteer Maine announced that Maine Audubon has officially achieved Service Enterprise Certification, a national recognition awarded to organizations that strategically leverage the skills and talent of volunteers at all levels of their work. This designation places Maine Audubon among the top-performing nonprofits in the country—organizations that don’t just use volunteers, but operate […]
Looking Up: Maine Audubon’s 42nd Annual Loon Count Results Show Positive Signs
Bruce and Gail Small could not stop exclaiming as they navigated their boat in and around the bays, nooks, crannies, and marinas at a busy end of Sebago Lake. It was their fourth year participating in Maine Audubon’s Annual Loon Count. Bruce navigated the boat while Gail recorded each sighting carefully on the map. And […]
Make your own wildlife-friendly ornaments
Making ornaments is a great activity, but the best thing you can do is plant a native plant in your yard that will be a permanent natural food source. Winterberry is beautiful in the winter, and birds love the colorful red berries. Also, consider leaving leaf litter, seedheads, and plant stalks, which are crucial places […]
Backyard Bird of the Month for December: Redpoll
You may see large numbers of uncommon visitors at your feeder this winter. Poor seed crops in the boreal forest this year are forcing arctic and subarctic breeders southward. This type of species movement is called an “irruption.” Among irruptive species this year are Redpolls, small, bouncy finches that travel in large flocks. Their rosy-red […]
Small Wonders: Convergent Evolution
Depending on how online you are, you may have seen the plethora of articles and memes about carcinization. This is the phenomenon of various crustacean lineages eventually evolving into crabs. In Maine we have species of “true crabs,” like the finely-speckled Atlantic Rock Crab (Cancer irroratus). Elsewhere in the world, however, many other animals in […]
NECEC’s Conservation Plan Was Not Fit for Approval
Proposed in 2017, Central Maine Power’s New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) transmission line would carry hydropower from Quebec to Massachusetts, requiring a 150-foot-wide, 53-mile corridor through undeveloped woods in Western Maine. Maine Audubon has engaged throughout the entire review process to assess wildlife impacts and push for adequate mitigation outcomes. Developing a Conservation Plan […]