the next forty years start with the next four

In Kennebunkport on October 24, 2024, in front of 300 delegates from all 30 of the National Estuarine Research Reserves around the country, the Wells Reserve at Laudholm officially marked 40 years since its designation as a reserve. Among colleagues and national leaders, reserve staff pledged to continue the mission of this humble, protected place on the coast of Maine: to understand, protect, and restore coastal ecosystems through integrated research, stewardship, environmental learning, and community partnerships.

Yes, we passed a major milestone this year. Like many readers’ 40th birthdays, it felt to us like it arrived too soon and yet still with all the attendant aches and pains, tribulations and satisfactions that four decades bring. It’s also easy to feel that, for the Wells Reserve, life is just beginning.

And then two weeks later, the presidential election returned Donald Trump to the White House. He campaigned on promises to slash environmental regulations and climate change research, and even to dismantle NOAA, the Wells Reserve’s operating partner. Those threatened cuts didn’t happen in the first Trump Administration; time will tell whether the Wells Reserve will weather this latest political storm.

We can say that we have spent 40 years building the Wells Reserve, and our cash reserves. We are now a more resilient organization (two organizations, really) than we’ve ever been. We think it’s nonpartisan, even inarguable, to state that the environment is changing rapidly and that centers for coastal science, education, and conservation are more important than ever. (Just read through these pages and see!)
To wit: we’re not going anywhere, except bravely and boldly into the future. And we’re so glad you’re with us, for the next four years and the next forty too.

Nik Charov
President, Laudholm Trust
Chairman, Wells Reserve Management Authority