The Wrack

The Friends of the York River received some excellent news last week: The Wild and Scenic Study Bill written and sponsored by Congresswoman Chellie Pingree was unanimously passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on June 5.

The bill calls for a multi-year study of the York River, done in conjunction with community input, that would determine if the river is eligible for designation as a Wild and Scenic Partnership River by the National Park Service. The bill still needs to pass in the Senate before it can become law.

Recent weather contributed to a high tide that reached the Picture Post positioned at the Little River mouth at the end of Laudholm Beach. Luckily, even though the post lost its perfect vertical alignment, it wasn't washed away. …

We saw a cold and wet start to the month of June here in Southern Maine. I thought I would share some SWMP data from a few of our stations to illustrate how weather can significantly impact the water quality of our estuaries

Dragon's mouth is a perennial herb in the orchid family that blooms in the bog along the Muskie Trail.

Twenty chestnut trees arrived at the reserve in May for planting in the Yankee Woodlot.

Our International Migratory Bird Day celebration on May 12 offered myriad activities for visitors of all ages. The event kicked off with a bird walk. Many warbler species were observed, including the rare Worm-eating Warbler.?June Ficker and her faithful team of volunteers demonstrated their bird-banding process all morning, allowing visitors to carefully release the captured birds once the data collection was complete. Special guests Allison and Jeffrey Wells, authors of the new book Maine's Favorite Birds, gave a presentation about migratory birds followed by a book signing.

I cannot believe its been six months since I left the Wells Reserve at the end of my MCC term. Last November, having spent the summer and fall gaining valuable field experience, I headed home to pursue my next career goal: admission to graduate school. It was a daunting but surprisingly natural transition, as my experiences at the Reserve prepared me well for this next phase.

Last Thursday 44 participants from 12 towns in Maine and New Hampshire along with local businesses, regional and state planners, and non-profits attended the Coastal Training Program's Strengthening Town Centers and Transforming Commercial Corridors workshop with Randall Arendt.

May is expected to be baby month around here, so staff (along with a few volunteers and interns) got together yesterday to wish well the first-time parents-to-be. Among the gifts showered upon Annie Cox and Sarah and Jeremy Miller were these creative blankets crafted by office manager Joyce Shea. (That yummy-looking carrot cake was the work of Jane Smith, with husband Tin's teasing sentiment expressed in true-blue…

In the summer of 2009, Marissa Hammond came to us as a wide-eyed freshman with little experience in research science. She has blossomed into a NOAA scholarship award winner who has been accepted into a highly respected graduate program in fisheries management and policy.