The Wrack

WELLS, Maine, February 3, 2012  Diana Joyner, president of the Laudholm Trust, the fundraising partner of the Wells Reserve at Laudholm, is stepping down from her position in June, according to an announcement from Bruce Read, chair of the Trust board.

A board committee has begun the search process for a successor.

WELLS, Maine, January 26, 2012  A 105-acre property that connects 540 acres of existing conservation land has been permanently protected by the Town of Wells in partnership with the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve at Laudholm.

The Tilton parcel, as it is known, contains 5,250 feet of frontage along the Merriland River, ecologically significant wetlands, and forested uplands. It protects habitat for a variety of wildlife, scenic views, and historic stone walls, and will provide for recreational and educational opportunities for the public.

In this week's York County Coast Star, Shelley Wigglesworth reports on the passing of Alexander Bacon Brook  "Sandy"  who owned and edited the paper from 1957 to 1977. The remembrances collected there reflect Brook's life as a newspaperman, but readers of the era also knew he loved York County's unspoiled environment. Here's a passage from an editorial he wrote in the paper  as Joyce Butler says in her history of Laudholm? "when preserving Laudholm Farm was still a dream"&

The White House has released a draft implementation plan for National Ocean Policy, demonstrating ongoing progress on a massive task. The draft implementation plan is guided by four themes:

1. Adopt ecosystem-based management
2. Obtain, use, and share the best science and data
3. Promote efficiency and collaboration
4. Strengthen regional efforts

The plan lays out a series of more than 50 actions? with accompanying outcomes and milestones  guided by these National Priority Objectives:

Paul Dobbins, President of Ocean Approved, shared his vast knowledge of kelp farming with a group of over 35 people yesterday during a Lunch 'n' Learn in Mather Auditorium. He came fully equipped not only with a very informative lecture, but also a huge bowl of delicious homemade kelp cole slaw for everyone to sample!

For years now, we've been handing out Seafood Watch pocket guides so people can make more careful decisions about what fish and shellfish to buy or avoid. The Monterey Bay Aquarium publishes regional guides, so the information is tailored to residents of the northeast, for example.

Now the aquarium has made ocean-friendly seafood recommendations even more convenient for smartphone users with its Seafood Watch app for iPhone or Android. At our house, the printed "pocket guide" often lived under a magnet on the refrigerator or got pierced by a thumbtack on the bulletin board, rarely making the trip to market. Now we will have the critical data in hand, as our mobile devices don't get left behind.

I noted 132 species during 2011, but only 92 of the ones on our "99 common birds" checklist. These are the ones I missed:

1. Lesser Yellowlegs
2. Spotted Sandpiper
3. American Woodcock
4. Eastern Wood-Pewee
5. Great Crested Flycatcher
6. Red-breasted Nuthatch
7. Rose-breasted Grosbeak

The Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership convened the Salmon Falls Watershed Collaborative to improve watershed planning and management — and to protect water supply sources — in the Salmon Falls River watershed.

Contents of the Fall 2011 issue of Watermark include&