Maine is in danger of losing its identify and unique quality of place because of fragmentation, unwise and poorly planned development, and thirty years of chronic underfunding. From Moose to Mayflies pleads with residents and visitors alike to exercise their stewardship responsibility so that what we enjoy today can be enjoyed 100 years from now.

From Moose to Mayflies is the third in a four-part series of documentaries on the stewardship responsibility we have to take care of this special place. A Wicked Good Deal for Maine was followed by Maine: A World-Class Fishery, and the final video, due out at the end of this year, will be about our 8 hatcheries and the role they play in providing world-class fishing in our lakes, rivers and streams. These and many other Department productions can be viewed on our Youtube channel which can be reached by clicking on the Youtube icon at the top of our homepage at: www.mefishwildlife.com

Travis Barrett produced and directed the video with the active participation of Sandy Ritchie, George Matula, and Judy Camuso. We have added more amazing scenery at the end where the credits appear, hoping you will watch and appreciate those who worked so hard to make it. This was an amazing cooperative effort that involved many people…too many to name. In particular I wish to acknowledge our friend, Dr. Gerald Krause, the founder of Save The Wild Video, Kingston, RI. who shot most of the amazing wildlife video. Without his gracious contributions, this video would leave much to be desired. Thank you, Gerry!

Enjoy and please share this video.

Their work is important and fascinating. It is also dangerous. Enjoy the 14 minute video.

In a previous article, I wrote about the potential economic impact birding could have on our state since Maine is home to large populations of so many diverse species. In the past two and a half years, I’ve been on several seabird cruises, attended birding festivals and public forums, filmed Plovers, Great Blue Herons, Bald Eagles, Arctic Terns, and the colorful and charismatic Puffins. I’ve been surprised at the numbers of people who take part in these activities, and amazed at how many come from beyond our borders.

I’ve spent time with birders of all stripes, with biologists, and with researchers on some of Maine’s islands where many seabirds migrate to breed during our summer months. One message has emerged: the birds are in danger because of human activity. If bird watching represents a sizable future impact of Maine’s economy as some would suggest, it is important that we pay attention to what the birds are telling us through the scientists at U.S. Fish and Wildlife, the Audubon Society, Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and others.

Take the lovable Puffin for example. Puffins had nested on Eastern Egg Rock in Muscongus Bay until 1885 when hunters eliminated the flourishing colony. Earlier this year I had the rare opportunity to visit this tiny island where I learned about the restoration project envisioned by Dr. Stephen Kress in 1973.

Dr. Kress believed that young puffins usually returned to breed on the same island where they hatched. So young puffins from Newfoundland were transplanted to Eastern Egg Rock when they were about two weeks old. Audubon biologists fed the young puffins a vitamin-fortified fish diet and banded them so they could be identified in the future.

Dr. Kress hoped that after spending their first 2-3 years at sea, they would return to Eastern Egg Rock to establish a new colony. And it happened! In the summer of 1977, transplanted puffins began returning to Eastern Egg Rock. In 1981, four pairs nested on the island and by 2010, the colony had increased to more than one hundred pairs.

Dr. Kress’ vision has taken hold in many other places around the globe where restoration projects are experiencing success. That’s the good news. With a little help, Puffins, seabirds, and Bald Eagles can recover.

Many birds that come here to winter or breed are “in trouble” because of the human impact on their home ranges or their stop-over places as they migrate. For example, millions and millions of migrating birds use the Gulf of Mexico to refuel as they travel back and forth between Antarctica, South America, North America, and Canada.

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico could deprive these migrating birds of the food they require to refuel as they continue their journeys. What effect this catastrophic disaster will have on the many ecosystems of North and South America, and on birds, fish, sea mammals, and plant life will not become obvious for years to come.

Imagine what would happen if we humans were not able to rest at motels, and refuel our automobiles and our bodies because something destroyed the motels, restaurants and gas stations along our highways as we traveled across this land. Life as we know it would be fundamentally changed. This is what is happening in the Gulf and wherever natural habitats have given way to human development.

Earlier this summer, I attended a public forum at the Acadia Bird Festival in Bar Harbor. That’s where I heard Dr. Jeff Wells who studies birds in Canada’s great Boreal Forest say that millions, perhaps billions of birds have already been lost due to human activities such as logging, mining, and drilling for oil and natural gas.

Dr. Wells had charts showing the migration paths of billions of birds from the great Canadian forest south to the entire U.S., the Gulf of Mexico, and South America. Canada’s Boreal region is host to three billion migratory songbirds, millions of waterfowl and shorebirds, the world’s largest caribou herds (once plentiful, they no longer exist in Maine), as well as large populations of bear, wolves, and lynx.

Dr. Wells said that the cumulative effect of the wide range of threats would result in the degradation of the region’s ecological integrity. 1500 scientists from around the world believe that current conservation planning efforts are insufficient to sustain the ecological integrity of Canada’s Boreal region, one of the most intact ecosystems left in the world. In a letter to Canada’s government leaders the scientists urged them to implement strategies to protect the region’s ecological integrity.

So, what about Maine? I believe the same thing can be said about this last piece of wilderness in the lower 48 states with 17 million acres of forests, 5600 lakes and ponds, more than 5,000 rivers and streams covering some 32,000 miles, and an incomparable rock-bound coast line that covers 4100 miles.

Steve Walker, the Department’s Beginning With Habitat manager, spoke at the same forum in Bar Harbor and explained how poorly planned development and the same wide range of threats could lead to the degradation of our own ecological integrity…unless we change our approach.

The factories we built have polluted our rivers and streams as well as our air. The dams we built not only have prevented millions of fish from spawning, but displaced millions of birds and animals, and degraded the ecosystem that supported the entire food chain. Steve Walker explains that if poorly planned development continues without considering growth in the context of landscape functions, the natural resources as we have known them will disappear.

Maine’s economy is not based on manufacturing, retirement communities, or large centers of commerce. The last of the textile mills and shoe factories are a thing of the distant past. Our economy is based on the natural resources. It has always been so. Outdoor recreation and tourism have a $7 billion annual impact on the economy. Our forests and clean water are renewable resources that have been the basis of our economy, our heritage, and our quality of life. That is why the natural resources are indeed the foundation of our economy and the reason we must preserve, protect, and enhance them.

But, the overarching reason, the morally imperative reason we must do so is because Maine is one of the last remaining wild and undeveloped regions of this country. Once it is gone, it will be lost forever. It therefore becomes our moral responsibility to preserve it not only for our grandchildren, but also for all those who wish to experience nature and abundant wildlife in a pristine environment.

If the birds and wildlife could speak they would be sounding the alarm that what we are doing to them and their habitat, we are doing to ourselves. The spill in the Gulf has already destroyed the lives and businesses of countless Americans in the Gulf States, and the aftershocks will reverberate throughout our economy for many years to come.

In fact, the birds and wildlife do speak to us through the scientists who study them and through concerned people who care about them. Caribou, once plentiful in Maine have been gone for years. The Bald Eagle was endangered for many years before making a comeback. Fish in our waters are dying after ingesting plastic lures. Mortality rates for seabirds is increasing because the herring they rely on for food are no longer abundant. Invasive plants, fish, and insects threaten our forests, our lakes, and fisheries.

Forty five species are currently on Maine’s Endangered and Threatened Species List including Peregrine Falcons and New England Cottontail rabbits. Among them are twenty birds from the Arctic Tern and Atlantic Puffin, to the Piping Plover and the Golden Eagle.

Just as the “canary in the coal mine” informed the world about the poisonous gases killing miners, our endangered and threatened birds, fish, invertebrates, mammals and reptiles are warning us about the integrity of our own ecosystem.

I wonder if we will hear the cries of our wildlife and the moans of our landscape and change course before it is too late.

On my return, I was determined to pay more attention to what the researchers were doing, why they were doing it, and what it was like taking part in the Puffin Restoration Project begun by Dr. Stephen Kress in 1973, nearly four decades ago.

This time Rose Borzik, the Associate Director of the Seabird Restoration Program, who had arranged my visits, was our chauffeur from the Audubon Center in Bremen on Muscongus Bay. When I arrived, Rose was preparing the 23’ boat that would take us out to “The Rock” six miles out into the Gulf of Maine.

On the first trip, fearful of what lay ahead and on the advice of Rose, all of my camera gear had been packed in large dry bags just in case they were dropped while transferring to and from the tiny Avon inflatable raft that would transport us from the boat to the Rock. This time, with calm seas, I was determined to get footage of the trip out to the tiny island and the challenge of getting ashore.

When the Rock came into view, one of the volunteers used a cell phone to alert Juliet Lamb, the Egg Rock supervisor, of our estimated time of arrival. Almost as soon as we moored our boat, Juliet was making her way over the rocks and seaweed, hauling the Avon, and slipping into the water. In a matter of minutes, Juliet rowed out for the first of three transfer trips. After several dry bags containing equipment, food, and supplies were loaded into the Avon, the first two passengers boarded the tiny inflatable.

Once on the Rock, Juliet led us along a narrow path and cautioned us not to stray because tiny, recently hatched chicks were everywhere in the shrubbery that covers the island. After a short hike toting our gear and supplies we arrived at the Egg Rock Hilton, a tiny one room shack that is the kitchen, living room, pantry, supply closet, and office.

Sleeping quarters? In tents covered with blue and green tarps to protect them from the bird droppings! Guano is everywhere! The Laughing Gulls are famous for frightening off trespassers and predators with guano bombs. And, they are deadly accurate. My clothes, hat, and camera are proof!

While the shack is affectionately dubbed the Egg Rock Hilton, if your idea of camping out is a Hilton Inn, you won’t be too comfortable in this tiny room. It is rustic and primitive to say the least. Vegetables hang from the ceiling in a basket. The propane oven is an ancient silver colored box about 10” x 10” x 10.” One of the volunteers was making a blueberry peach cake.

Just outside the front door on the porch sits as a very small refrigerator, also running on propane. The sole light, kitchen appliances, and computer are powered by several solar panels that lean up against the back wall facing south. There’s a solar shower out back…with water heated by the sun, and a stately compost toilet (outhouse) is located about 30 feet away from the Hilton. Dishes are done outside and the crews recycle everything. This is a carry-in, carry-out operation. There’s no landfill on this tiny rock community, and these scientists would never think of using the Gulf of Maine as a garbage dump.

Food, water, and supplies are ferried out whenever needed or there is a crew change. Empty water containers, garbage, and recyclables are brought back to land on the return trip. There’s a VHF radio to communicate with the Audubon base at Hog Island, cruise ships, lobster boats, and the Audubon water taxi. Cell phone service is spotty, but we did use one on the ride out to the Rock to alert Juliet that we were about a mile away.

The team of researchers eat together sharing cooking duties and cleanup chores. They follow the schedule of the birds so they are up early and retire after dark. They told me the screeching is a constant 24-7 soundtrack.

Juliet is studying for her master’s degree and wants to study seabirds in other parts of the world. She’s been inspired by Dr. Kress’ seabird projects and wants to spend her life restoring them to their natural habitats. Juliet seems quiet and reserved, but once she gets to talking about the birds, her face lights up, she becomes animated, and she rattles on with facts about the birds, conditions on the island, and the harm humans have caused to the oceans and the birds.

When I asked if she ever takes a weekend off to go ashore, she told me she never leaves and wouldn’t even if she could. She loves the birds, the work, living on a remote island, and the lack of stress the rest of us experience on the mainland. Office work, commuting? Not for Juliet! The other volunteers and contract workers only spend a few days or perhaps a week at most. Most of them would really rather stay the summer as well. They are special, these young volunteers and researchers. They know the work is important; they love the birds; and they love the rhythm and pace of life on the Rock.

Every summer, Juliet and her crews repeat the same process of counting mating pairs; the number of nests, eggs, and chicks; observing the food supply; and banding chicks. It seems they record everything they observe and spend hours entering the data into the computer and thinking about what they are learning.

On this particular day, Juliet’s mother, father, and kid sister visited and spent the day on Egg Rock. Unfortunately, the wind came up and with it, rough seas that necessitated an earlier departure. The ride back was a little choppy, but Rose handled our craft like a veteran sailor. I’m grateful to the National Audubon Society’s Dr. Stephen Kress and Rose Borzik who made my visits possible. It was an amazing experience – one that I won’t forget. Hopefully others can share it and learn about this important seabird restoration project.

We’re using a few clips in a Wildlife Division documentary, and I will use the video and hundreds of still images I took in a documentary I am working on that will focus on what the birds might be telling us about the risks we all face to survive on this planet with finite and limited resources.

Enjoy the following video.

Puffins had nested on Eastern Egg Rock in Muscongus Bay until 1885 when hunters eliminated the flourishing colony. Permission came to visit the island from Dr. Stephen Kress of the National Audubon Society. Dr. Kress is the person who started the Puffin Project in 1973. His vision at the time was a real stretch of the imagination since restoring seabirds to their original breeding grounds had never been done.

Dr. Kress believed that young puffins usually returned to breed on the same island where they hatched. So, young puffins from Newfoundland, where they are plentiful, were transplanted to Eastern Egg Rock when they were about two weeks old. Audubon biologists fed the young puffins a vitamin-fortified fish diet and banded them so they could be identified in the future.

Dr. Kress hoped that after spending their first 2-3 years at sea, they would return to Eastern Egg Rock to establish a new colony. And so it happened. In the summer of 1977, transplanted puffins began returning to Eastern Egg Rock. In 1981, four pairs nested on the island and by 2010, the colony had increased to more than one hundred pairs.

In 1984, National Audubon and the Canadian Wildlife Service began a similar puffin restoration project at Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge 6 miles east of Matinicus Rock in outer Penobscot Bay. That colony was also wiped out by 1887, but between 1984 and 1989 950 puffin chicks were transplanted from Great Island Newfoundland to Seal Island. By 2006, the colony rapidly increased to more than 336 pairs.

Dr. Kress’ vision has taken hold in many other places around the globe where restoration projects are experiencing success. That’s the good news. With a little help, Puffins, seabirds, and Bald Eagles can recover.

Our 23′ foot boat ferried us to the island where we dropped anchor and transferred into a tiny inflatable Avon rowed by Juliet Lamb, the project supervisor for this season. Fortunately, the seas were calm, but without a sandy beach or dock, climbing out of the Avon onto slippery seaweeds and rocks was challenging. The fact that all of our gear and extra clothing had to be packed in large river rafting dry bags made it clear that a dip in the cold Atlantic was a real possibility.

Once on the island, the continuous chatter and screeching of thousands of birds is overwhelming as they bring fish to their young and try to frighten away their human invaders. We were warned to wear old clothes that could be “white-washed.” Angry birds can become very accurate dive bombers as our hats and clothes at the end of the day would prove.

We were led along tiny paths by one of the summer contract workers and volunteers who seemed to know where every nest was. Since there are no trees on the island, these migrating seabirds make their nests on the ground among the rocks and shrubbery island vegetation making it very difficult to see and at times to avoid.

The Puffins on the other hand lay their eggs in cracks, crevices and openings in the rocks. Each Puffin nest is marked with large red numbers painted on the rocks. I sat in front of #82 on a 5 gallon empty paint bucket for hours to capture the shots I needed. We landed on the island around 9:30 am and departed somewhere around 5 pm with several hours of video and hundreds of digital pictures.

As we followed the researchers who were banding puffins and terns that day, the overhead aerial attack by thousands of laughing gulls and terns never stopped. The fearless terns attacked from every angle, pecking at our heads and even removing our hats…and bombarding us with guano. It was an incredible experience that reminded me of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller, The Birds.

I’ll return to the island later this month to finish my documentary on Project Puffin, this time focusing on the Audubon researchers and volunteers who live on the island in tents for periods of several days to a few weeks. I’ll capture their rustic accommodations, their meals, and the rigorous 16 hour days among the screeching birds.

Enjoy the short video of these magnificent seabirds.

Maryanne Foye in our Licensing Division ended up with it and brought it to Ralph Brissette in our Call Center. Being perhaps the most knowledgeable about all of our laws and rules (he handles upwards of 250 calls a day), Ralph immediately knew what to do. He called a wildlife rehab facility in Vassalboro and arranged for the baby raccoon to be picked up and transported there.

As cute and cuddly as these baby critters are, citizens are encouraged to leave them be and to call a local animal rehabilitator. There are sound reasons for not handling wild critters. First, raccoons, skunks, foxes, and bats carry rabies which can be passed on to humans and other animals. Human rabies can be fatal and easily contracted by casual contact with a cut, or with fluid from the eyes, nose, or mouth.

It is also unlawful for anyone to be in possession of a wild animal without a permit from the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. The reason for this is simple. Wild animals are supposed to be wild and not domesticated. Purchasing and selling wild animals is against the law.

Wildlife rehabilitators are licensed by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to accept wild animals for rehabilitation purposes. Follow this link to find a list of wildlife rehabilitators in your area.

Let me say right away, I’m not a birder, and I don’t pretend to understand much about bird and birders. What motivated me to make this trip, and several others cruises, as well as trips to popular birding locations such as Evergreen Cemetery in Portland and Scarborough Marsh, was to verify what I had been told about Maine being a world-class birding destination because of the diversity and abundance of species. There are more bird species native to Maine than I had ever imagined, and I had no idea how many birds migrate here to nest during our summer months – some from as far south as the equator and the tropics.

So, on Friday, June 4th, I set out at 8 am sharp with an Audubon sponsored tour aboard Hardy III out of New Harbor. The trip was led by Eric Hynes, Audubon’s Gilsland Farm naturalist and adult education program coordinator. Eric has a passion for wildlife, and in particular birds. He is bright, articulate, high energy, and very personable. With field glasses in one hand and a microphone in the other, Eric sights tiny seabirds, directs his birders where to look (12 o’clock, 9 o’clock, just off the stern), and describes the bird’s features, flight characteristics, and nesting habits. This was the second Hardy Boat cruise I have taken at Eric’s invitation.

Several things have become obvious to me as I’ve tagged along on these birding tours taking pictures and shooting video. First of all, birders are very well educated, environmentally aware, and passionate. Second, they are extremely knowledgeable about birds, all kinds of birds. Most participate in population surveys sponsored by Audubon. And, third, they all have field glasses strung around their necks and many have digital SLR cameras with long telephoto lenses. On the three seabird cruises I’ve been on, I’ve met people from Georgia, Florida, New York City, Missouri, Texas, and from as far away as the west coast. They come to Maine because they can see certain birds here they can’t see anywhere else in North America.

These people are also intense! Most have a “life list” of birds they hope to see before they die. Kind of like a “bucket list” of the things you want to do before you die. When a rare bird is spotted by Eric, everyone – and I mean everyone – jumps to their feet and trains their field glasses in the direction of the spotted bird. Ooohs and aaahs, and expressions such as “amazing,” “fantastic,” “Oh, my gosh,” emanate from the deck and huge smiles appear on all the faces.

In the next moment, everyone is scribbling in a little notebook they all seem to carry, journaling the experience and detailing what they have seen. You’ll also see several haul out a North American Bird Guide with pictures and descriptions of thousands of birds. One man from New York City was writing notes in the margins of his well-worn guide. Everyone was sharing knowledge and experiences.

There were several other well-known experts along on this cruise. Jan Pierson leads birding trips around the world as founder and president of Field Guides, Inc., a company specializing in international birding tours – if you can believe that! Jan has been a Midcoast Maine resident since 1970 and shared his knowledge and experiences freely with everyone.

Peter Vickery, the president of the Center for Ecological Research, is a resident of Richmond, Maine. He’s an adjunct faculty member at UMass Amherst and a real expert on Maine birds. He is currently writing a book on Maine birds and has authored more than 40 scientific research papers and numerous popular articles on natural history and conservation.

Never once was I made to feel uncomfortable because of my lack of knowledge about birds. In fact, everyone was quite interested in my work and very willing to explain things for me.

Fortunately, the day was perfect and the seas were relatively calm. But, the large swells did cause some nausea. At one point I thought I was going to lose it, but a physician’s assistant from Bar Harbor gave me a piece of hard candy. She told me to suck on the Gin Gins (a ginger flavored candy) and to stand up to get some wind in my face. Amazing! Within seconds the nausea disappeared. These candies were provided compliments of the ship’s captain, I imagine because it would be cheaper to keep people from getting sick than having to clean up all the time.

We motored out of New Harbor across the mouth of Musongus Bay and passed close by the seabird colony at Eastern Egg Rock where roseate terns nest. With plenty of open-water habitat along the way, we saw a wide variety of birds including Wilson’s storm-petrels and jaegers. We continued on to Matinicus Rock and Matinicus Island, and then on to Seal Island which is another major seabird nesting site.

Every spot on the cruise was filled and there was a waiting list. I wondered what the economic impact would be on the State of Maine if we marketed and promoted this rare, wold-class experience. Without doubt it would be millions of dollars each year spent in the local economy. Many people already come here from far and wide spending money on hotels, restaurants, birding tours, and gas. Some fly to Portland and rent cars. While they are here, they also visit lighthouses and feast on lobsters and clams. And who doesn’t visit Freeport on a trip to Maine?

At one point on the trip, Eric pointed out the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Bird Bands attached to his field glasses. He noted that the $20 donation went directly to the Department’s dedicated Non-Game and Endangered Species Fund and encouraged everyone to get one. Each annual band has the Department’s logo, a serial number, and a telephone number to call if the field glasses are found.

We motored back into port at approximately 5 pm…tired from 9 hours at sea, windblown and sunburned. But it was another wonderful day of discovery and fascination. While I probably won’t become more steeped in the birding culture, I’ll take every opportunity I can to meet some wonderful people who care deeply about wildlife and the environment and will do my part to tell their story. Next weekend I’ll be off to Bar Harbor and the annual Acadia Birding Festival and another seabird and whale watch cruise aboard the Friendship V catamaran.

Enjoy the brief video of my trip.

I attended the ceremonies today with local elected officials, volunteers, and Inland Fisheries and Wildlife staff. It was a beautiful, warm day in May. I toured the new exhibits which represent hours of work by Park staff and volunteers, and a significant fund raising effort on the part of volunteers and benefactors.

The new, all-natural exhibits replace the old “cages” which held skunks, porcupines, fishers and other small mammals. This is a long-time goal of the Park and a marvelous addition to the world-class wildlife park in Gray.

For more than twenty years, Inland Fisheries and Wildlife staff and Park volunteers have labored tirelessly to convert a “game farm” into a major destination for over 100,000 visitors each year. The Wildlife Park in Gray is now totally self-funded and receives no money from the state. Volunteer and benefactor contributions and gate receipts entirely support the Park’s operations and full-time staff.

All of the animals in the Park have been injured and are not able to survive on their own in the wild. Lisa Kane, Department Wildlife Educator conducts informational programs almost daily for thousands of school children and visitors. At the Park, visitors can see Maine black bears, moose, deer, a lynx, bobcat, porcupine, fisher, and many more of Maine’s wild animals.

The Park is a great place to visit and relax among the tall pines and shaded areas. There are picnic areas, a snack bar, a gift shop, the Game Warden Museum, and plenty of room to roam.

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is grateful to Lisa Kane, Curtis Johnson and the staff of the Park, the Friends of the Park, the many people who have contributed to the Park, and the thousands of visitors from near and far who come to see, appreciate, and marvel at Maine’s wild creatures.

Enjoy the video!

The resolve states in the preamble that the Legislature believes that invasives create an emergency and require the immediate implementation of the legislation. The Maine Departments of Environmental Protection and Inland Fisheries and Wildlife began meeting to plan and execute a broad strategic initiative to combat the problem. The two departments were also required to facilitate the continued work of an aquatic invasive plant species working group that includes the Maine Congress of Lake Associations, a statewide sport group, bass fishing clubs, and other interested entities or individuals.

In order to combat the spread of invasive plants, Maine law states that all motorized boats operated on inland (non-tidal) waters must display the current year’s Lake and River Protection Sticker. The “milfoil” sticker has been required since 2002 and was, up until 2008, sold separately from the Maine watercraft registration. Beginning in 2008 the sticker fee was combined with the watercraft registration fee for Maine registered watercraft used on inland waters. The sticker now reads “Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers – Preserve Maine Waters” and is attached to the watercraft registration.

Owners of non-Maine registered boats continue to be required to purchase and affix a separate non-resident sticker. A new Lake and River Protection Sticker for boats registered outside Maine must be purchased every year and affixed to all motorized watercraft.

With the combination of the Lake and River Protection Sticker and Maine Watercraft Registration, the compliance rate, while still high, actually dropped 1% to 96% for inspected Maine registered boats. Sticker compliance for non-Maine registered boats declined 3% to 74%. Actually, just one person, one boat, with one strand of an invasive plant can transport that invasive plant to every other lake and pond visited.

Currently, more than 30 lakes and ponds are infested with invasive (non-native) plants. Invasive plants, fish, snakes, and mammals are all serious introductions into our precious natural resources and threaten to destroy an ecosystem that has been here since the last ice age.

Rep. Eberle’s “resolve,” directs our two agencies to work together, in collaboration with lake associations and user groups, to identify private boat ramps on lakes infested with aquatic invasive plant species. It further requires our departments to work cooperatively to increase the effectiveness of educational and outreach efforts regarding aquatic invasive plant species through all means available.

To that extent, ads have been created and placed in the major sporting publications and in “Maine Fish and Wildlife” our on-line magazine, and the Department’s website. Articles and Blogs such as this one, will continue to keep this issue in the public consciousness. An advisory can also be heard on our Turnpike Radio broadcasts as visitors enter our state in Kittery.

As soon as LD1548 was enacted, John Boland, Director of our Fisheries Division, John McPhedren, and Paul Gregory from the Invasive Aquatic Species Program at DEP, Colonel Joel Wilkinson of the Maine Warden Service, Warden John MacDonald of the Maine Warden Service, Travis Barrett and myself from our Public Information and Education division have been meeting regularly to collaborate on these and other outreach initiatives.

The accompanying 29 second video is a PSA written and directed by Gregory, and shot and produced by our division of Public Information and Education. “Only YOU Can Prevent The Spread Of Invasives” will run on the Department’s Website, our YouTube channel, public access stations, and depending on funding, certain commercial television stations. The “character” in the video asks, “I’m just one guy. Besides, what harm can one guy do?”

The fact of the matter is, one guy, one boat, and one seaplane can transport the deadly species to every body of water they visit. Invasives are a serious matter and only “YOU” can help stop the spread. Sportsman’s associations and clubs, bass clubs, camp owners, and our natural resource agencies are all working together as a result of this legislative resolve to destroy these invasive plants and to prevent their spread.

Yes You Can prevent the spread of invasive plants and species.

Raising quality fish is a meticulous scientific process. Our seven hatcheries raise and stock more than a million fish each year all over the state. Transporting hatchery raised fish to more than a thousand locations is also a carefully monitored process, and most of the time it is really hard work. Carrying in fish to a remote pond in a backpack or on an ATV over rough terrain isn’t quite like a stroll in the park. Black flies in the spring time make the job even more challenging.

The Department also uses three Warden Service aircraft to stock fish in remote ponds throughout the state. Last week, Gene Arsenault, supervisor of the state-of-the-art hatchery in Emden, drove me to Jackson Pond where we videotaped the drop. I was accompanied by Lucas Stewart, a junior at the New England School of Communications (NESCOM) in Bangor. We set up our cameras at two vantage points after a short trek through the woods. Black flies were all over us and our lenses.

At Emden Lake, Warden Pilot Dan Dufault picked up some 400 brook trout in two external tanks mounted on each side of the plane. This is an amazing sight to see, and the drop from about two hundred feet doesn’t harm the fish at all. It takes a great deal of skill to swoop into one of these remote locations, drop the fish precisely into the pond, and then pull up to clear the trees at the other end of the pond. Warden Pilot Dufault made one flyover so we could focus the two cameras. To make sure we got “the money shot” we wanted, rather than emptying both tanks at the same time, Dan made two passes dropping fish from one tank, and then the other.

We got the shots in spite of the black fly bites which left me with huge welts on my forehead, temples, and one eye lid which has been swollen for two days.

Sometime this summer, we will release a new video documentary on the entire fish rearing process which the Department has been doing for over 100 years. For now, enjoy the short video of our trip to Jackson Pond.