In January and February 2014, NOAA’s Maine Coastal Program will be presenting five half-day workshops in Ellsworth, Freeport, Machias, Saco and Thomaston to address water quality. Attendance is free!
You can find out more about the workshops here.
Author Archives: cait
Grant Opportunity: Marine Debris Prevention
NOAA is offering $20,000 – $100,000 for marine debris prevention through education and outreach!
You can find the full description and application materials here.
MDIBL Receives $239k Grant for Eelgrass Restoration
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded the Mount Desert Island Bio Lab a grant of $239,000 for eelgrass restoration in Frenchman Bay. The grant will enable the Lab and its partners to restore an additional 214 acres of subtidal habitat off Lamoine, Bar Harbor, and Trenton over the next two years.
The grant is the first to be awarded in Maine under the Estuary Habitat Restoration Act of 2000 and one of only two to have ever been awarded in New England. The Army Corps grant will fund two years of restoration and research activity in Frenchman Bay and two AmeriCorps positions at MDIBL.
“With the Army Corps’ support, we will be able to ramp up our research and restoration efforts substantially,” said Jane Disney, director of the Community Environmental Health Laboratory at MDIBL and president of Frenchman Bay Partners. “Our goal is a productive and sustainable future for Frenchman Bay. By restoring eelgrass, we will improve the bay’s economic productivity as well as its biodiversity.”
DMR Proposes Swipe Cards for Elver Harvesters
In what could have sweeping effects through the elver industry, the DMR has proposed regulations that would require elver dealers to use a swipe-card reporting system, and to maintain records of all elver transactions. This regulation would allow the DMR to keep better tabs on the number of elvers caught in Maine, and would also make it more difficult to sell or purchase poached elvers.