The Wrack

Last Thursday, I was fortunate to be among about 75 people who gathered at the Footbridge Beach parking lot in Ogunquit to unveil a rock dedicating the estuary in memory of Isabel Lewando who died in 2011. Isabel came to Ogunquit in the 1950's and established herself as a model, artist, writer, and photographer. She was also a life-long defender of the environment, particularly the Ogunquit River and beach.

"What an impact! Verifiable scientific information--not political lies! Excellent! A must see and hear program for ALL! Really relevant! Outstanding! Data rich and easily understood!" These are comments written on evaluation forms at the end of Dr. Paul Mayewski's Climate Stewards evening lecture in Mather Auditorium last week. Mayewski, the Director and Distinguished Professor of the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine, took us on a "journey into climate," sharing results from research he and others have conducted over the past forty years in Antarctica and the Arctic. Did you miss the lecture? Don't fret! Kate filmed it and you can watch it in its entirety here.

Short on time? Below is a sampling of the many nuggets of information Mayewski shared:

The following was published in the Biddeford-Saco?Journal Tribune Sunday edition, 9/21/2014.

With a too-short summer and the back-to-school fracas, anyone would be pardoned for missing the official Congressional resolution naming this coming week National Estuaries Week, the annual celebration of the places where rivers meet the sea.

Before you get too excited, please understand that the resolution is merely pending, and that estuaries dont get the whole month. According to Congress, the entire 30 days of September have, in recent years, been reserved for Gospel Music Heritage, Bourbon Heritage, Prostate Cancer Awareness, Childhood Obesity, Honey, and even Self-Awareness. (And you thought our legislators didnt do anything  shame on you.)

Resolved or not, 1/52nd of a year certainly seems like a worthy amount of time to devote to estuaries, those humble places of mud and marsh that do so much.

The local paper of record didn't print this letter to the editor these last two weeks, so we'll just publish it ourselves! Thank you again, one and all, for another great Crafts Festival. ----- For 27 years running, dedicated volunteers and the staff of the Wells Reserve and Laudholm Trust, along with hundreds of master artisans, have been proving that there is life here after Labor Day. …

The invasive European green crab is not only a popular topic in the media these days; here at the reserve green crabs are receiving their?fair share of attention as well? 5,878 of them so far to be exact!

The Wells Reserve has teamed up with the University of Maine, Casco Bay Estuary Partnership, and Southern Maine Health Care to study the impacts of the invasive European green crab (Carcinus maenas) on the geology and stability of our marshes. Over the summer we have been collecting abundance data that will later be used in conjunction with fyke net data, water quality data, and even geological techniques to better understand the effects green crabs are having on salt marshes throughout southern Maine.

Create a U.S./Canada working group, identify research gaps, and establish a regional approach to blue carbon science and policy.

The following was published in the Biddeford-Saco?Journal Tribune Sunday edition, 8/17/2014.

Around the time I was twelve, I went through what my parents called the Indiana Jones stage. I wore an officially licensed brown fedora, carried a homemade clothesline bullwhip, and definitely expected to be an archaeologist when I grew up. I even talked my way into a field expedition to the Caribbean island of Grenada, though I was two years short of their minimum age requirement. Rules didnt matter  in search of lost tribes, buried treasure, even whip-cracking adventure, I dreamt only of piercing the jungles dark heart. Cue the trumpets!

Two years ahead of schedule, our goal to obtain all our electricity from the sun is within reach. We have been awarded two grants to launch the final phase of our initiative. With $86,898 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and $10,000 from the Davis Conservation Foundation, we…

As you walk the loop trails in the Yankee Woodlot, check out our new interpretive signs! On each sign, you'll learn a little more about the Yankee Woodlot timber harvest project. Be sure to also check out these informational videos featuring some of the stars of the Yankee Woodlot project, which can be accessed using the QR codes found on each of the four signs on the trail. You can also view and read…

As you walk the loop trails in the Yankee Woodlot, check out our new interpretive signs! On each sign, you'll learn a little more about the Yankee Woodlot timber harvest project. Be sure to also check out these informational videos featuring some of the stars of the Yankee Woodlot project, which can be accessed using the QR codes found on each of the four signs on the trail. You can also view and read…