News

April 3rd, 2017

Frenchman Bay Partners Steering Committee Monday, April 3, 2017, 3-5 pm Gordon’s Wharf, Sullivan, ME FBP Steering Committee Minutes Attending Larry Libby, Lamoine Conservation Commission Michael Good, Down East Nature Tours Antonio Blasi, Hancock County Commissioner Chris Petersen, College of the Atlantic Hannah Webber, Schoodic Institute Fiona DeKoning, Acadia Aqua Farms Ellie Oldach, College of the Atlantic Katie, College of the Atlantic Jane Disney, MDI Biological Laboratory Anna Farrell, MDI Biological Laboratory   Annual Meeting Read more…

By Anna Farrell, ago

January 18th, 2017 FBRSC

Frenchman Bay Regional Shellfish Committee Meeting Lamoine Town Hall January 18, 2017 The Department of Marine Resources (DMR) and the Community Environmental Health Laboratory presented watershed information at the monthly Frenchman Bay Regional Shellfish Committee meeting at the Lamoine Town Hall. The DMR reported on water quality in Frenchman Bay, focusing on Martin Cove, Lamoine Beach, and the Trenton Seaplane Ramp, which are all listed as pollution areas. The DMR completed a shoreline sanitary survey in 2016, Read more…

By Anna Farrell, ago

Conservation Planning Short Course at UMaine Orono

EES 598 (Section 0860) Special Seminar in Ecology and Environmental SciencesDesigning Conservation Projects, 2 credits The University of Maine, Orono March 6-10, 2017 9am- 5pm This course is focused on learning how to scope and design a real-world conservation project. It is based on the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation, an approach to project management that is widely used by practitioners in leading conservation organizations (e.g., The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, and Read more…

By Anna Farrell, ago

Partners Continue to Explore ESV Tools

ESV Tools, or Ecosystem Services Valuation Tools, help determine the benefits people receive from ecosystems. The Frenchman Bay Partners, in their quest to inform and support policy decisions, have been researching various tools, each possessing different emphases and strengths. Consultant Margaret Snell prepared a summary of 14 tools, highlighting their attributes, strengths, weaknesses, inputs, outputs, and scales. Next steps include determining the scope and needs of specific Frenchman Bay Partners projects and selecting the most Read more…

By Anna Farrell, ago

Rockweed Group Holds Meeting

The Frenchman Bay Partners continue to explore rockweed in Frenchman Bay. A well attended meeting back in April produced a multitude of questions centered on legal issues, rockweed ecology, and rockweed economics. To keep the conversation going, a rockweed group, headed by Hannah Webber, Schoodic Institute, and Chris Petersen, College of the Atlantic, was created. In late July, the group met to discuss the Frenchman Bay Partners Conservation Action Plan, what the concerns about rockweed are, what Read more…

By Anna Farrell, ago

Never Smelt So Good

The Fisheries, Fishermen, and Fishing Communities class at COA is busy churning out educational and engaging blog posts all about their adventures. The latest? “Never Smelt So Good: The 16th Annual Smelt Fry and Fisheries Celebration” regales readers about the delicious smelt fry hosted by the Downeast Salmon Federation in Columbia Falls, Maine. The 16th Annual Smelt Fry and Fisheries Celebration was quite a success in raising awareness for important fish species like smelt and Read more…

By Chris Petersen, ago

Alewives and Spring Cleaning

The Fisheries, Fishermen, and Fishing Communities class at COA, co-taught by Chris Petersen and Natalie Springuel, worked with the Somes Meynell Wildlife Sanctuary to clean out and rebuild sections of the fish passages in Somesville in anticipation of this year’s alewife run. They learned some area history, some neat things about diadromous fishes, and got their feet wet (literally!) engaging with the community: It allowed us to hopefully make a tangible impact on a species Read more…

By Anna Farrell, ago

Rockweed Meeting Follow Up

The Frenchman Bay Partners hosted a successful rockweed meeting on April 2, 2016. 72 individuals attended the three hour meeting, which included four presentations from various industry, conservation, and academic experts, and a question and answer panel session. Many thanks to everyone who participated in any capacity! Check out the new “Rockweed” tab under “Projects”. We’ve posted planning documents, meeting minutes and presentations, relevant documents from interested parties, and newspaper articles. We’re sorting through, organizing, Read more…

By Anna Farrell, ago