Land conservation bill ready to sign
Scott Richardson ~ 2009-03-26
The Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP) authorization bill has passed Congress and is headed to the the President’s desk.
The program was established in 2002. CELCP grants have been used to bolster land conservation efforts along the coasts of Maine and New Hampshire.
According to the NOAA website, CELCP was established…
...to protect coastal and estuarine lands considered important for their ecological, conservation, recreational, historical or aesthetic values. The program provides state and local governments with matching funds to purchase significant coastal and estuarine lands, or conservation easements on such lands, from willing sellers. Lands or conservation easements acquired with CELCP funds are protected in perpetuity so that they may be enjoyed by future generations.
The CELCP authorization act was included in H.R. 146, which combined more than 150 public-lands measures into a single package. The bill passed the Senate late last week. The House passed it yesterday by a vote of 285-140.
GIS Center featured in NOAA magazine
Scott Richardson ~ 2009-01-23
The Wells Reserve GIS Center is featured in this month’s Coastal Services magazine. You can read the article online, but you might want to download the PDF to see the fully illustrated version.
The article gives a nice overview of the history and purpose of mapping and technical services at the Reserve. As Tin Smith explains in the article:
We have such a broad geographic mission to protect estuaries, but we can’t be in every community to protect every estuary. Our goal is to help the people in those communities do their jobs better.
Coastal Services is a bimonthly trade publication for the nation’s coastal resource managers. Congratulations, Sue and Tin, on the nice coverage.
Did you read the article? What did you think?
A guide to cottontail habitat management
Scott Richardson ~ 2008-12-02
The Wells Reserve is home to a core population of the New England cottontail, a rabbit being considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act. We’ve reported before on the Reserve’s efforts to improve habitat for the rare bunnies, and now the Environmental Defense Fund has issued A Landowner’s Guide to New England Cottontail Habitat Management. If you are interested in making an impact on the survival of New England cottontails, you can start by following guidelines in the new publication, which is available as a downloadable PDF from the EDF website.
Cross-country bicyclists reach finish line
Scott Richardson ~ 2008-10-23
Congratulations to Brad Edmondson and Jim Kersting, who completed their Coast To Coast for Conservation bicycle trek in Wells on Wednesday afternoon, day 73 of their travels.
Jim, Brad, and their logistics coordinator Sara stopped by the Laudholm farmhouse to visit and get a brief tour before making the final leg of their journey to the beach for a ceremonial “tire dip.” Thirty-seven hundred miles in 73 days, all in the name of environmental stewardship—now that’s dedication!
The greening of Ogunquit
Scott Richardson ~ 2008-10-21
At a Wells Reserve Lunch n Learn not too long ago, Bob Joyner talked about the Ogunquit Conservation Commission’s effort to make Ogunquit the first “Green Town” in Maine. The commission touted a self-certification program to encourage businesses, government services, residents, and (eventually) visitors to go green and save money by making simple changes. Here’s their top ten:
- Recycle
- Adjust your thermostat
- Change to energy efficient light bulbs
- Unplug
- Give up plastic for shopping
- Practice green yardscaping
- Drive less and slower
- Conserve water
- Buy local and curtail buying bottled water
- Reduce use of chemical products
Ogunquit citizens who pledge to take at least 8 of these actions qualify as “green leaders” and are encouraged to tie a green ribbon around a tree to demonstrate their leadership.
If you’re a Laudholm supporter* you probably do some or all of these things already. But they bear repeating because they provide a foundation for day to day conservation actions.
So this is just a reminder to enhance (or begin) what you do to protect natural resources and keep our communities healthy.
*Not a member of Laudholm Trust? Support us and you support the Wells Reserve. Together we act locally for regional and international impact.
This is one Top Ten list. What other actions would you recommend people take every day to Go Green?
Call to Action for restoring coastal and estuarine habitats
Scott Richardson ~ 2008-10-07
Restore America’s Estuaries (RAE) recently released a Call to Action for the new Administration and Congress. The organization invites people to sign on at thepetitionsite.com.
The purpose of the Call to Action is to unite the habitat restoration community to speak with one voice for the need to make habitat restoration a national priority and to increase the scale and pace of restoring our nation’s coastal and estuarine habitats.
According to RAE:
Our nation’s coasts and estuaries are in serious trouble. The United States has lost 55 million acres of coastal and estuarine habitat along its coastline due to development, pollution, and other human-made and natural causes, and its coastal habitat continues to disappear at a rate of between 1.2 percent and 9 percent a year.
The full petition text is available at thepetitionsite.