The Wrack

The following was originally published in the Biddeford-Saco?Journal Tribune Sunday edition, 7/21/13.

In Maine, were continually blessed with natures beauty and its bounty. Our forests, our Gulf, and our thousands of miles of rocky and sandy coast are major drivers of our economy and the envy of the Northeast. Our summer population quadruples because, yes, lifes good here, thanks in large part to our environment.

But science indisputably tells us that the Maine we know is not the Maine that has always been, or will be. Even our rich cultural history is but a millisecond in our environments life.

If our accustomed way of life was, climatologically-speaking, born on third base, should we be blamed for thinking wed hit a triple? What if instead of playing baseball, weve been surfing a wave that must, as all waves do, break?

Our appreciation to the 2013 summer interns who make the "busy season" that much more efficient and effective for everyone around here. In alphabetical order (and with their favorite candy)&

Fog: welcome hydration after the heat wave. Lunch on the porch. Barn swallows, and a couple of trees, whip past incessantly. A vigilant starling keeps going to the gutter with a beakful of food and leaving without one. Two adolescent bluebirds perch on the sapling chestnut and its wire barrier, watching for bugs. I imagine it's their dad who stops while passing downhill, sporting colorful leg bands he probably got a few miles (not a few rods) away. A mockingbird moves in and out of the Sialia space without its typical confidence. To the west, somewhere along the swampy head of the Muskie Trail, cu-cu-cu, cu-cu-cu, cu-cu-cu, cu-cu-cu. The rain crow.

On Saturday June 29, 2013, stakeholders?in?Southern?Maine participated in a full day field trip hosted by Maine Sea Grant that highlighted techniques being implemented by property owners to become more resilient in the face of climate-related impacts.

Every spring the rivers of Maine are home to a unique phenomenon. As the water temperatures rise above 12.8?C?(55? F) alewives begin their annual migration upstream to the lakes and ponds where they were born. This evolutionary strategy is known to biologists as anadromy and is shared with nine other native species including Atlantic salmon and rainbow smelt.

Historically, the schools of spawning fish in our rivers numbered in the millions, and were a significant economic and nutritional resource. Even today, some coastal Maine towns have an annual alewife harvest where these fish are caught by the thousands to be sold for lobster bait, or even smoked and sold to adventurous gourmands or locals with a taste for traditional fare. One notable alewife run takes place in mid-coast Maine at Damariscotta Mills. The fish ladder that bypasses the dam at the outlet of Damariscotta Lake is a great place to see these seasonal visitors.

Alas, dogs have been barred from the Wells Reserve trails since the early 90's. Why? The short answer is: to preserve nature. But here's my longer answer.

A botanists perception of time is measured by the coming and going of flowers. We cant stop it, but we have the ability to rewind it.

We had a great crew of volunteers for our first Spring Spiff Up on the morning of May 18. Folks from near and far, some old friends and some new to the place, pitched in to dig ditches and dandelions, plant trees and flowers, and paint fences and bathroom walls. After a busy and beautiful few hours, many paused to help us dedicate the ecology center solar panels before venturing off. Some went home or off to lunch or on to chores, while others headed down to the beach or into the woods for a well deserved relax. We appreciate everyone's help and hope the day was as rewarding for you as it was for us.

The nearly 40 people who attended Dr. Stephen Mulkey's "Crisis and Opportunity in the Environmental Century" Climate Stewards lecture in mid-May left with a clear message: We are out of time and we must act now.

Mulkey began his talk with a quote from David Orr, "All education is environmental education& by what is included or excluded we teach the young that they are part of, or apart from, the natural world." Mulkey spoke of his (incredible) work as President of Unity College, becoming the first college in the country to divest from fossil fuels, as well as recently integrating climate change education across the entire curriculum. Unity's students study the complexity of interactions among the economy, society, and nature--a framework for the future known as "sustainability science."