March 31, 2022 (Augusta, ME) � A bill that will expand Maine�s network of ecological reserves to protect more habitat for the state�s rich array of plants, animals, and other species was signed into law by Governor Janet Mills on Tuesday March 29, 2022. State-owned ecological reserves cover less than 1% of the state, yet […]
News & Notes
Biddeford Youth Wins Maine Junior Duck Stamp for Second Year in a Row
For the second year in a row, a talented young artist from Biddeford has edged out other young artists from across the state to win the Maine Junior Duck Stamp art contest. Ariah Lowell, 13, impressed the judges in a field of extremely talented artists with her oil painting of a Wood Duck in flight […]
Make Your BIG NIGHT Last a Week!
Things are starting to spring, and even sing! Our minds often start thinking of spring as birds return to Maine. However, the arrival of Red-winged Blackbirds and Woodcocks are also phenological indicators of something completely different � BIG NIGHT!!!� Maine�s incredible reptiles and amphibians, or �herps� as we affectionately call the subjects of herpetology, have […]
Help Us Protect Birds! Volunteers Needed to Monitor Bird/Building Collisions
It’s estimated that one million birds die�per day�around the country after colliding with glass windows.�We need your help understanding this problem so we can craft and implement solutions. We are looking for volunteers this spring migration to join us on the early-morning streets of Portland to look for birds that have struck buildings to help […]
Mid-March Sightings of Things with Scaled Wings
With temperatures going above 60�F on this Friday afternoon, it wasn’t much of a surprise to see insect activity from outside my office window. A quick walk outside produced a couple fun lepidopteran finds (Lepidoptera being the “scale-winged” order of insects that include butterflies and moths)�which were a pleasant validation for a little backyard habitat […]
Judging Complete for 2022 Junior Duck Stamp Challenge
With more drama than March Madness, the number of tie-breakers today brought the tension high as judges struggled to choose winners from a highly competitive crowd. Forget the NCAA; this is the Maine Junior Duck Stamp Challenge! Five judges gathered at Maine Audubon�s Gilsland Farm center in Falmouth today to choose winners from more than […]
New Bill to Protect Water Quality in the Presumpscot (and Beyond)
Fifty years after the passage of the Clean Water Act, our fight to protect clean water in Maine continues. There was a public hearing on February 28 on LD 1964, a bill to reclassify certain waterways in Maine to reflect their improved status. This happens every three years, when the Maine Department of Environmental Protection […]
Celebrating 100 years!
On March 2, 1922, in Portland, the temperature reached a high of 23 degrees, with an overnight low of 16. About 3.7 inches of “snow, ice pellets, hail” fell that day, and at the observed time, there were 24 inches of snow, ice pellets, hail, or ice already on the ground. Wintry weather did not […]
Encouraging Climate Education in Maine Public Schools
Maine�s climate is changing rapidly, and our best chance to mitigate or prevent harm in the future is to act decisively now. That means reducing greenhouse gases, transitioning to a clean energy climate, and preparing our children for the future. A bill moving forward in the legislature, LD 1902, would address the latter point and […]