The Wrack

As we gear up for a busy spring and summer, we are pleased to present a finished set of seven field guides to the Wells Reserve salt marsh and intertidal zones!

Goal

Determine the presence or absence of diadromous rainbow smelt and appropriate habitat within the restored area of Shoreys Brook

Project Period

March and April 2012

Here are a few images from the second Winter Wildlife Day, held during school vacation week with help from York County Audubon and the Center for Wildlife. Despite the lack of snow, folks had a good time. The rain showers seemed to arrive when everyone was inside for presentations and the sun came out when it was time for the trail walks.

The Salmon Falls Watershed Collaborative, an ambitious interstate effort to protect drinking water supplies for more than 47,000 residents in Maine and New Hampshire, has been awarded the 2012 U.S. Water Prize by the Clean Water America Alliance.

When Punkinfiddle started out in 2003, we sponsored an art competition to find a logo that would tie pumpkins and fiddles together in a festive way. We had several worthy entries, but the standout was from Joseph Havens, a skilled graphic designer living in Kennebunk. Joe evoked our anticipated feel for the event before we had even nailed down the day's details!

Our friends at Dietz Associates digitized the art and featured it on our first poster. The logo jumped off the page, attracting lots of attention and helping to make our event wildly successful.

A quick lunch-time trail hike turned into an exciting wildlife tracking adventure.

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"&