The Wrack

Its not every day you meet a butterfly named Sargent Buck. Similarly, it isnt too common to come across a butterfly named Colonel Adams. However, if you should happen to visit the Wells Reserve in the next few days, you might just get the chance.

Last Monday, Kate brought in 26 Painted Lady chrysalises, which were pinned to the top of a small netted enclosure and left to hatch in the Teaching Lab. Though not explicitly related to the theme, the butterflies became an integral and exciting part of last weeks Seashore Sleuths camp. That day, we ogled as the chrysalises shook in anticipation of their next transformation.

Three angles of investigation into three waterways flowing through three municipalities have reached one encouraging conclusion: The Merriland River, Branch Brook, and the Little River are ecologically healthy and the people largely responsible, those living in the combined watershed, know and appreciate it.

The design for our Sustaining Coastal Landscapes and Community Benefits project, the first study of its kind, drew from the sciences of ecology, economy, and communications. Reserve staff and their colleagues from Clark University looked at streamside buffers in Sanford, Kennebunk, and Wells to find out how they affect life in the water and how members of the community value them.

Nik's Notebook: Welcome, Invaders!

Maine has historically (and, at times, comically) viewed those "from away" with great suspicion and even scorn. Rightly so, when it comes to invasive, non-native species like mouse ear snails, red algae, and European green crabs that all now impinge on our Gulf. These diabolical intruders, and many more, are a horror story for our coast, but they're just one tale in this Summer 2014 issue of Watermark, your beach reading from the Wells Reserve at Laudholm.

Because while these aquatic invaders may come "from away," so too do our annual fresh-faced summer interns, our many excellent research partners, and continual new ideas. And truly, Southern Maine's beach towns would be ghost towns without our summer tourists. So we welcome all these new arrivals to the Wells Reserve at Laudholm and hope they take back home with them, from their visits or even just by reading this summer newsletter, a little bit of "the way life should be." Or could be, anyway, with a little more science, education, and conservation.

Have a wonderful summer. Do come over; it's your Reserve!

Download the Summer 2014 Watermark

The weather on July 23 was warm and muggy? a perfect day for a swim at the shore. But rather than head to one of the many lovely sand beaches of York County, some 90 people packed Mather Auditorium to learn about legal issues surrounding ownership, use, and access to the shore.

Attendees heard lively presentations from two attorneys who have extensive knowledge of the subject. John Duff, a law professor and attorney, led with an informative (and sometimes humorous) analysis and explanation of all of the court cases since Moody that have affected use and ownership of Maine's shoreline.

The following was published in the Biddeford-Saco?Journal Tribune Sunday edition, 7/20/2014.

If the Wells Reserve at Laudholm had an oil well and a refinery and a power plant on site, we could keep the lights on, fill up our heating oil tank, and top off my Volkswagen every day for cheap. But we dont. Thats just one of the drawbacks of fossil fuels: the infrastructure needs are enormous. Add the geopolitical strife, the pollution, and the finite supply of oil, coal, and natural gas, and its a wonder that our society uses the stuff as greedily as we do.

We cant live without energy. Fossil fuels power the global economic engine, and theyre immensely profitable to their producers. If only they didnt have those annoying consequences. If fossil fuels were as vast, inexhaustible, and reliable as the sun that rises daily over our heads, theyd be great.

World Listening Day is July 18. I'd never heard of it until this week, when listener extraordinaire Bryan Pijanowski mentioned it during his noontime talk in the auditorium. Dr. Pijanowski is in town for the Global Sustainable Soundscapes Network's coastal workshop, which includes a site tour here today.

Last Thursday evening, I happened to be working late in the shop when I received a special dispatch from John, the facilities manager. A research group had taken a golf cart down to the marsh and had not yet returned, though it was nearing closing time. He had to head out, and I really had nowhere to be, so I took off down the trail in my own golf cart to investigate. Down at the marsh (three sides of which I visited trying to get as close to the researchers as possible), it turned out that they were just having a long day in the field and would be finished soon.

Good enough. Here's where the story begins.

Climate Reality Project's Allen Armstrong delivered an info-packed update to An Inconvenient Truth 8 years after its release.

If we look around, we can watch the natural world disappearing right before our eyes. The good news is that those rates of loss have been worse in the past. The bad news is that what we see disappearing isnt the only thing were losing. It turns out, the sounds of the natural world are fading too.

Down in sunny Tuckerton, New Jersey, a contingent of coastal Maine residents and Wells Reserve associates heard firsthand the accounts of locals affected by Hurricane Sandy. The meeting was designed to be an exchange of experiences and suggestions in?regard to storm preparedness and coastal resilience. The discussion was geared toward vulnerable areas in Maine, specifically Drakes Island and the Saco-Biddeford area, both of which sent representatives down to NJ. The trip included dinner at a restaurant damaged by Sandy, a few tours of destroyed coastal communities, and an informative panel discussion with residents and municipal officials involved in the recovery efforts.