The 50th annual Bald Eagle cruise on Merrymeeting Bay highlights the robust comeback of the species. By Deirdre Fleming, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story BOOTHBAY HARBOR — Chris Kenty and Jim Walters came from Philadelphia for Maine Audubon’s 50th annual bald eagle cruise on Merrymeeting Bay, but not for the novelty of seeing Read More
Endangered Species Act
New Rules Place At-risk Species Further in Peril
Proposals favoring industry over conservation won’t improve the Endangered Species Act. By The Editorial Board Portland Press Herald editorial It says something about the politics of the time that in 1973, the Endangered Species Act passed Congress overwhelmingly – 355-4 in the House of Representatives! – before it was signed into law by Republican President Read More
Chaplain Grateful for Endangered Species Act
Pray that our congressional delegation recognizes and values the importance of this landmark law. By Macauley Lord, resident of Brunswick, an Episcopal chaplain and a fly-fishing guide Portland Press Herald op-ed BRUNSWICK — When a Republican president signed the Endangered Species Act into law in 1973, he probably could not have dreamed how effective it Read More
Last of Their Kind in the Year of the Bird
Like many of you, we mourned the loss of the last male northern white rhino on Earth. His name was Sudan. Though he was named for the country where he was born, Sudan had spent most of his life in a zoo in the Czech Republic. While Sudan lived out his life thousands of miles Read More
We Can’t Bring Extinct Species Back. It’s Our Duty to Protect Them Now.
By Jeff Wells, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed Since the age of 5, my son has been able to identify a bald eagle when one perches or flies near our house in Maine. Forty years ago, this would not have been the case, as Maine’s population had declined to only 30 nesting Read More
Federal Endangered Species Act Targeted for Constraints
For many creatures, their saving grace was the 1973 law that some congressional Republicans now would like to relax, if not put to bed. by Darryl Fears Washington Post news story The federal Endangered Species Act has been called the world’s gold standard for environmental protection. Passed in 1973, it strengthened earlier federal protections for Read More
Government to Spend $3.2 Million to Help Monarch Butterfly
About two-thirds of the money will be used to restore more than 200,000 acres of habitat from California to the Corn Belt. By Dina Cappiello, The Associated Press news story WASHINGTON — The federal government pledged $3.2 million on Monday to help save the monarch butterfly, the iconic orange-and-black butterfly that can migrate thousands of miles Read More
Shiny Patches in Maine’s Streambeds Are Bright Sign for Salmon
by Murray Carpenter New York Times news story WASHINGTON COUNTY, Me. – Ernie Atkinson waded up Old Stream on a warm fall afternoon, peering through polarized sunglasses to scan the streambed. Before long, he pointed out a place where the bottom looked different. “You can see how the gravel is a lot cleaner right here–it Read More
Atlantic Salmon Listing an Opportunity, Not Liability
by Doug Watts Bangor Daily News op-ed Now that Atlantic salmon in the Penobscot, Kennebec and Androscoggin rivers are protected as an endangered species, it is time to move forward and actually protect them. Here are some things to ponder as we do so: 1. The U.S. Endangered Species Act forbids us from giving up. Read More