Senator Saviello, Representative Tucker, and members of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee: My name is Nick Bennett, and I am the staff scientist for the Natural Resources Council of Maine, which is Maine’s largest environmental advocacy group with over 20,000 members and supporters. I am testifying in opposition to LD 1350. Motorized gold dredging Read More
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Northport Students Study Aquaponics
What is Aquaponics? Aquaponics is a form of farming in which plants receive nutrients from fish waste in a symbiotic relationship, decontaminating the water. The fish produce waste, and plants use that waste for nutrients to grow. This creates a cycle, with the fish eating, the plants purifying the water, and us, the farmers, harvesting Read More
Mines Have Wrecked Spectacular Sport Fisheries
By George Smith Bangor Daily News column Macauley Lord said it best at a State House press conference outlining key environmental issues for this legislative session. Speaking about his concern over mining in Maine, Macauley said, “I can tell you that Maine has some of the best places to fish in the world. We have Read More
Agreement Calls for Dam Removal, Fish Passage on Presumpscot in Westbrook
An agreement between Sappi Fine Paper and conservation groups is intended to improve passage for river herring, shad and other fish in the Presumpscot River. By Kevin Miller, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story Sappi Fine Paper has agreed to remove dams and improve fish passage along the Presumpscot River in Westbrook under an Read More
Tour Maine’s Newest and Largest Parcel of Federal Land
By Murray Carpenter New York Times story On an early fall day, with just a hint of red tinting the maples, the view from the summit of Deasey Mountain is spectacular. To the west stand the rugged, treeless basins and knife-edge spine of Mount Katahdin. Off to the south, you see Wassataquoik Valley in the near Read More
Growing Education Solutions, Shrinking Environmental Problems
Guest post by Jeff Giallombardo For the past two years NAE Academy (Nokomis Alternative Education) students have been designing, building, and operating their own Aquaponics systems. Aquaponics is the cultivation of fish and plants together in a recirculating system where fish waste provides a nutrient source for the plants and in turn the plants provide Read More
Plastics are on Track to Overtake Our Oceans Unless We Make Big Changes
By The BDN Editorial Board Bangor Daily News editorial Most of us don’t give much thought to where our trash goes. We’d better start paying attention, though, especially to the ubiquitous plastic refuse we toss aside every day. Scientists predict that by 2050 there will be more plastic, by weight, than fish in the world’s Read More
Creature Feature: American Shad
Shad look like the “perfect” fish: forked tail, tapered body, and silvery all over, with a dark spot just behind the gill.
St. George Middle School Students Make a Difference for Alewives
The St. George Middle School in Tenant’s Harbor is beautifully positioned next to Ripley Creek, a tidal stream that opens into a freshwater marsh. This marsh teemed with spawning alewives until the 1980s when a new culvert constructed in Ripley Creek blocked their passage. In 2015, the town replaced this culvert with a fish-friendly culvert. Read More
