The Wrack

On a classic October morning, a research team heads to the EliotSouth Berwick line, where a private landowner has opened his property for a Wells Reserve study of fish and fish habitat. Parking the pickup at the end of a long hayfield, the five gather up gear and step into a middle-aged pine-oak forest, then head downslope past ferns and toppled trees till the trail goes wet underfoot, the canopy breaks, and they stand at the edge of Shoreys Brook. This is headquarters for the next few hours. It is one of eight sites along the brooks 4.3 miles being surveyed for resident and migratory fish, and their habitat, in advance of a planned dam removal downstream.

Uncle Nat called me last night and we had a delightful conversation. I chanced to ask him about a large pump that I noticed in the Sheep Barn while I've been working down there over the last two weeks. It turns out that it was the back-up pump for the hydraulic ram and was located down at the Mill. This pump was used if the rams malfunctioned or broke. The pump is a one-cylinder gas pump that Nat believes was manufactured in Vermont& quite an impressive looking piece of machinery.

Charles, Mark, and Frank installed seven bat houses within four of the Reserve's fields today, in an effort to provide habitat for the local population of these insectivorous flying mammals who eat up to 1,000 insects per hour. Below are pictures taken during one of the installations. We are hoping that bats will move in to this new real estate in the spring!

In July, fifteen middle and high school teachers from seven different states participated in the Teachers on the Estuary (TOTE) four-day field-based workshop at the Reserve. Since then, they have been teaching their students about estuaries and watersheds, while also?implementing student-driven?stewardship projects. On Saturday, the more local contingency of this TOTE group (and one teacher?skyping from Kentucky!) met at the Reserve for a follow-up session. The teachers shared information about their stewardship projects, which are very impressive!

Paul Dest was presented with the 2011 NERR System and NERR Association Award at the annual NERRS/NERRA meeting at Ponte Verde Beach, Florida, on October 27.

With the 2011 field season and my Maine Conservation Corps term drawing to a close, I think now is the perfect time to review and reflect upon all of the work that was done this summer and fall.? It was an ambitious field season for the researchers at the Reserve, and after a busy summer and even after the first snowfalls, several projects are still underway.? I was very involved in four big projects during my ter…

Not long ago, we mentioned the York River Wild and Scenic study bill. Here's an update:

Yesterday's Lunch 'n Learn in Mather Auditorium drew over 20 people who were interested in learning more about the birds of York County. Marie Jordan of York County Audubon Society shared her vast knowledge of birds, as well as an impressive slideshow of her bird photographs. Following?are just a few?of the snippets of information that I documented in my notes from the program: Pine Siskins come throug…

The Reserve recently received 12 trees from a nursery in midcoast Maine, thanks to the Maine Forest Service's "Project Canopy." This week, Charles, volunteer Mark Klys, and the AmeriCorps team planted them along the entry road, where they will serve as a wind break and visual buffer.

On October 5th the Coastal Training Program partnered with Protect Kittery Waters, Spruce Creek Association, FB Environmental, Robert's Maine Grill, and the Great Works Regional Land Trust to host a day-long field trip showcasing watershed restoration efforts on Spruce Creek and Shorey's Brook. The day began at Kittery Town Hall where Mary Ann Conroy (Public Works, Kittery) and William Straub (CMA Engineers) spoke about the tree box filter and raingarden they installed with Maine DEP 319 funding.