The Wrack

View the Fall 2024 issue of Watermark, our member newsletter.

High sustained winds and very large waves, both aligning with high tide, created a perfect storm on December 23, 2022.

Bridges and culverts located along coastal roads are increasingly vulnerable to sea level rise and coastal flooding. Two interns collected data on vulnerable crossing structures to help ensure the sustainability of coastal habitat and communities.

The January 18, 2022, storm left its mark, but could have been worse.

Its been a year with time for introspection and musing on the small things in life. How our lives, our economies, our governments and societies were turned upside down by a tiny coronavirus, each only 100 billionths of a meter in size. It boggles the mind but perhaps it shouldnt.

The Wells Reserve was well represented at a conference focused on challenges and opportunities for regional resilience in the face of climate change.

When green crabs arrived in New England more than 150 years ago, they found an unoccupied ecological niche in Maines salt marshes. Despite their long occupancy, great abundance, and serious impacts, there is a lot left to learn about green crabs. The reserves latest research has focused on understanding seasonal movements, population structure, sexual maturity, and effects on habitats.

In October, representatives from 10 southern Maine beach communities gathered to share their experiences preparing for coastal storms, particularly in the context of rising seas. We report some of what we heard during the half-day program.

New England's four research reserves are positioning themselves as Sentinel Sites through meticulous long-term environmental monitoring.

We are putting teachers on the estuary again this summer by offering a free workshop that will give educators data-driven climate change activities to bring back to their classes. The workshop will train up to ten educators in reserve-style environmental monitoring, "coastal blue carbon" concepts, and ways to understand and address climate change.