Maine Climate News, August 6

Record Number of Puffin Burrows This Season

This year, researchers on Eastern Egg Rock counted 200 puffin burrows, up from 188 in 2019. Burrows are deep, grass-lined tunnels that puffins dig underground to hatch and raise their chicks.

Eastern Egg Rock is the site of a conservation effort that brought puffins from Newfoundland to Maine in the 1970s. The island had previously been home to puffins, but they were hunted to local extinction in the 1880s. Since the 1970s, the resettled colony has been managed by Maine Audubon, and the population has steadily grown. This project was the first successful effort to restore a seabird species to an island where it had been eliminated by human activity.

The puffin population on Eastern Egg Rock has become a beacon of hope for seabird conservation. Seabird populations worldwide have experienced dramatic declines, with nearly 70% lost since the 1950s.

Source: The Maine Monitor

Maine Launches New Strategy to Stop Spruce Budworm

Maine is expanding its efforts to prevent a major spruce budworm outbreak. Instead of waiting for widespread tree damage, foresters are using an "early intervention strategy" that targets small areas with rising budworm populations before they spread.

The spruce budworm is a native insect that feeds on balsam fir and spruce trees. The last major outbreak in the 1970s and 1980s killed millions of acres of forest across Maine and eastern Canada. Although the insects are native to Maine and are typically kept in check by natural predators, including birds, their populations boom in roughly 30-year cycles. Researchers hope this proactive approach will protect forest ecosystems, wildlife habitat, and Maine's forest economy while avoiding another large-scale outbreak.

Source: The Maine Monitor

Study on Sea Level Rise Impacts at Hannaford Locations

Hannaford is partnering with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute on a project to assess how climate change could affect two of its coastal stores in South Portland and Portland. Researchers are mapping the stores' vulnerability to sea level rise, coastal flooding, and extreme weather by measuring the elevation of key infrastructure and comparing it to projected future sea levels.

The project aims to help Hannaford identify investments needed to keep stores open and accessible during flooding and severe storms. If successful, the pilot could be expanded to other Hannaford locations, helping strengthen the resilience of coastal stores as climate impacts continue to intensify.

Source: Maine Public

78,000 Acre Conservation Project in Western Maine

Four conservation organizations have permanently protected 78,000 acres in the Rangeley region around the Magalloway River watershed. The protected land connects with more than 500,000 acres of previously conserved forest, creating a wildlife corridor as species shift their ranges in response to climate change.

The project preserves habitat for native brook trout, moose, loons, and other wildlife while maintaining public access for fishing, hunting, paddling, hiking, and snowmobiling. More than 62,000 acres will continue to be managed as working forest, supporting both conservation and Maine's forest economy.

Source: Maine Public