This poster may give those who are unfamiliar with vernal pools more insight into why they are so important.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Vernal Pools Educational Poster
This poster may give those who are unfamiliar with vernal pools more insight into why they are so important.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Environmental Regulations on Maine Legislature's Front Burner
Environmental Regulations on Maine Legislature's Front Burner
MPBN
01/21/2011 Reported By: Susan Sharon
With all the focus in the Republican-dominated Legislature this year
on environmental regulations and the possible rollback of those that
are perceived to deter job growth, environmentalists and lawmakers are
gearing up for a lively session. Dozens of environmental bills are up
for consideration, including repeal of Maine's bottle bill, a
moratorium on expedited wind permitting and relaxation of shoreland
zoning and protection of vernal pools.
This week Gov. Paul LePage made headlines when he suggested Maine's
regulations protecting vernal pools from development should be
relaxed. Vernal pools are small, fish-free bodies of water that are
dry for part of the year and fill up with snowmelt long enough to
provide a breeding ground for frogs and toads--the food source for
forest creatures such as weasels, skunks and even bear and moose.
But in just about every one of the governor's listening sessions on
regulations, Republican Sen. Tom Saviello of Wilton says vernal pool
protections have been raised as an example of overly-burdensome
regulations. As chair of the Environment and Natural Resources
Committee, he's expecting about ten bills on the subject to be brought
forward, either to his committee or to a newly established committee
on regulatory reform known as LD 1.
"The leadership may, in fact, decide that the best place to hear the
vernal pool legislation questions will be in front of the LD 1
committee," Saviello says. "So if they do that, they would sweep them
out of my committee and put them in front of LD 1."
Jen Gray, a staff attorney with Maine Audubon, says environmental
groups such as hers are concerned about vernal pool protections coming
under fire from the governor and others. She's hoping to meet with the
governor's nominee to head the Department of Environmental Protection
to explain the importance of vernal pools, not all of which are
regulated or prohibit development.
"We're hoping to have the opportunity to walk through how the vernal
pool legislation came to be and why the rules were developed the way
they were and how very few project have actually been impacted by
vernal pool protections," Gray says.
Also expected to come before the Environment and Natural Resources
Committee are several bills dealing with bottle redemption, a law in
place in Maine since 1978 intended to reduce roadside litter and solid
waste by offering incentives to recycle. One bill, introduced by
Republican Sen. Thomas Martin of Benton proposes to repeal the bottle
redemption law, although Martin says he will likely support other
related legislation instead.
"There are some similar bills out there so I put one in not knowing
there was another bill out there," he says. "And there are several
that I will probably let this one lapse."
Martin says he thinks Mainers are environmentally responsible enough
not to need the bottle deposit to encourage them to recycle. Short of
repealing the entire program, he says he supports a proposal to exempt
wine bottles from the redemption law. That bill is sponsored by
Republican Rep. Stacey Fitts of Pittsfield.
"First off, they're very bulky," Fitts says. "It's one of the only
glass, large returnables that are still in the system. And wine
bottles come from a lot of different places, and oftentimes they don't
have deposits on them."
In other words, they may be coming from out of state, where a deposit
was never paid on them in the first place, and Fitts says that winds
up costing redemption centers here in Maine money when they get
returned.
More than half a dozen bills dealing with relaxation of Maine's
shoreland zoning regulations are also being proposed. This week during
an environmental roundtable with the governor, representatives from
Maine's fishing industry urged the governor not to weaken regulations
dealing with water quality.
Patrice McCarron is the executive director of the Maine Lobstermen's
Association. She says consumers, who bought 100-million pounds of
Maine lobster last year, are depending on them.
"They know that it's harvested from the pristine waters of the Gulf of
Maine and we need to make sure that the rules that protect our waters
remain in place," she says. "You don't have to look far to see what
happens to lobsters when water quality is poor. The southern New
England lobster industry has grappled with disease, die-offs and, more
recently, a complete resource collapse."
Chad Coffin, president of the Maine Clamming Association, says
excellent water quality is also critical to his industry, which he
says is worth about $40 million to Maine's economy and supports 2,000
wild clammers.
"Excellent water quality starts in the lakes, ponds and streams
hundreds of miles inland and ends at the coast," he says. "We are
concerned about threats to water quality and our industry if the state
somehow loses sight of what we have gained in the last decade through
new legislation that has helped to clean up and improve the water
quality in our coastal waters."
In addition to water quality, windpower development is also going to
be scrutinized by lawmakers this session. There are no fewer than a
dozen wind-related bills being proposed, including several sponsored
by Republican Rep. Larry Dunphy of Emden. One of his bills would put a
moratorium on the expedited wind permitting process. Another would
create a code of conduct for individuals involved in large scale
energy development and yet another would protect citizens' property
values.
"You put in a 300- or 400-foot tower or a number of these 300- or 400-
foot towers and flashing lights and humming noises and that sort of
thing and is that gonna decrease the property value? It would decrease
my interest in buying property in that area," Dunphy says.
With all of the proposed legislation, it is possible that similar
bills may be merged. In the meantime, environmental groups say they
will be watching to make sure environmental regulations that protect
and define the Maine brand are not completely eroded.
MPBN
01/21/2011 Reported By: Susan Sharon
With all the focus in the Republican-dominated Legislature this year
on environmental regulations and the possible rollback of those that
are perceived to deter job growth, environmentalists and lawmakers are
gearing up for a lively session. Dozens of environmental bills are up
for consideration, including repeal of Maine's bottle bill, a
moratorium on expedited wind permitting and relaxation of shoreland
zoning and protection of vernal pools.
This week Gov. Paul LePage made headlines when he suggested Maine's
regulations protecting vernal pools from development should be
relaxed. Vernal pools are small, fish-free bodies of water that are
dry for part of the year and fill up with snowmelt long enough to
provide a breeding ground for frogs and toads--the food source for
forest creatures such as weasels, skunks and even bear and moose.
But in just about every one of the governor's listening sessions on
regulations, Republican Sen. Tom Saviello of Wilton says vernal pool
protections have been raised as an example of overly-burdensome
regulations. As chair of the Environment and Natural Resources
Committee, he's expecting about ten bills on the subject to be brought
forward, either to his committee or to a newly established committee
on regulatory reform known as LD 1.
"The leadership may, in fact, decide that the best place to hear the
vernal pool legislation questions will be in front of the LD 1
committee," Saviello says. "So if they do that, they would sweep them
out of my committee and put them in front of LD 1."
Jen Gray, a staff attorney with Maine Audubon, says environmental
groups such as hers are concerned about vernal pool protections coming
under fire from the governor and others. She's hoping to meet with the
governor's nominee to head the Department of Environmental Protection
to explain the importance of vernal pools, not all of which are
regulated or prohibit development.
"We're hoping to have the opportunity to walk through how the vernal
pool legislation came to be and why the rules were developed the way
they were and how very few project have actually been impacted by
vernal pool protections," Gray says.
Also expected to come before the Environment and Natural Resources
Committee are several bills dealing with bottle redemption, a law in
place in Maine since 1978 intended to reduce roadside litter and solid
waste by offering incentives to recycle. One bill, introduced by
Republican Sen. Thomas Martin of Benton proposes to repeal the bottle
redemption law, although Martin says he will likely support other
related legislation instead.
"There are some similar bills out there so I put one in not knowing
there was another bill out there," he says. "And there are several
that I will probably let this one lapse."
Martin says he thinks Mainers are environmentally responsible enough
not to need the bottle deposit to encourage them to recycle. Short of
repealing the entire program, he says he supports a proposal to exempt
wine bottles from the redemption law. That bill is sponsored by
Republican Rep. Stacey Fitts of Pittsfield.
"First off, they're very bulky," Fitts says. "It's one of the only
glass, large returnables that are still in the system. And wine
bottles come from a lot of different places, and oftentimes they don't
have deposits on them."
In other words, they may be coming from out of state, where a deposit
was never paid on them in the first place, and Fitts says that winds
up costing redemption centers here in Maine money when they get
returned.
More than half a dozen bills dealing with relaxation of Maine's
shoreland zoning regulations are also being proposed. This week during
an environmental roundtable with the governor, representatives from
Maine's fishing industry urged the governor not to weaken regulations
dealing with water quality.
Patrice McCarron is the executive director of the Maine Lobstermen's
Association. She says consumers, who bought 100-million pounds of
Maine lobster last year, are depending on them.
"They know that it's harvested from the pristine waters of the Gulf of
Maine and we need to make sure that the rules that protect our waters
remain in place," she says. "You don't have to look far to see what
happens to lobsters when water quality is poor. The southern New
England lobster industry has grappled with disease, die-offs and, more
recently, a complete resource collapse."
Chad Coffin, president of the Maine Clamming Association, says
excellent water quality is also critical to his industry, which he
says is worth about $40 million to Maine's economy and supports 2,000
wild clammers.
"Excellent water quality starts in the lakes, ponds and streams
hundreds of miles inland and ends at the coast," he says. "We are
concerned about threats to water quality and our industry if the state
somehow loses sight of what we have gained in the last decade through
new legislation that has helped to clean up and improve the water
quality in our coastal waters."
In addition to water quality, windpower development is also going to
be scrutinized by lawmakers this session. There are no fewer than a
dozen wind-related bills being proposed, including several sponsored
by Republican Rep. Larry Dunphy of Emden. One of his bills would put a
moratorium on the expedited wind permitting process. Another would
create a code of conduct for individuals involved in large scale
energy development and yet another would protect citizens' property
values.
"You put in a 300- or 400-foot tower or a number of these 300- or 400-
foot towers and flashing lights and humming noises and that sort of
thing and is that gonna decrease the property value? It would decrease
my interest in buying property in that area," Dunphy says.
With all of the proposed legislation, it is possible that similar
bills may be merged. In the meantime, environmental groups say they
will be watching to make sure environmental regulations that protect
and define the Maine brand are not completely eroded.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Share your Photography on the BCC Blog
Share your Bremen winter photographs on the BCC Blog. Send to bcc@tidewater.net and provide your name at the bare minimum so that we can credit you when we post it.
Look forward to hearing from you!
Look forward to hearing from you!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Workshop on Land Conservation Priorities to be Held in Bremen January 27
Bremen residents are invited to a public workshop at 7 p.m. on Thursday, January 27, to help prioritize land conservation choices for the town’s future.
The workshop, sponsored by the Bremen Conservation Commission, is an opportunity for town citizens to express their preferences as to how the town’s Conservation Account should be used. The town established the account in 2008 for the purpose of acquiring land, easements and rights-of-way to maintain open space for Bremen’s future, and has appropriated funds to the account for the last three years. The Conservation Account has received additional funding from donations and events held by the Conservation Commission.
Chairman Dennis Prior said the Conservation Commission wants to better understand what types of land Bremen residents see as most important to future land conservation, such as access to ponds and working waterfront, scenic views, wildlife habitat, recreational areas etc. The workshop will be an important part of the learning process and a way to plan effectively for the future. He believes that the commission is set to undertake its most important work in the next few months starting with this workshop.
This is an important planning workshop and we strongly encourage the public's participation.
The workshop, sponsored by the Bremen Conservation Commission, is an opportunity for town citizens to express their preferences as to how the town’s Conservation Account should be used. The town established the account in 2008 for the purpose of acquiring land, easements and rights-of-way to maintain open space for Bremen’s future, and has appropriated funds to the account for the last three years. The Conservation Account has received additional funding from donations and events held by the Conservation Commission.
Chairman Dennis Prior said the Conservation Commission wants to better understand what types of land Bremen residents see as most important to future land conservation, such as access to ponds and working waterfront, scenic views, wildlife habitat, recreational areas etc. The workshop will be an important part of the learning process and a way to plan effectively for the future. He believes that the commission is set to undertake its most important work in the next few months starting with this workshop.
This is an important planning workshop and we strongly encourage the public's participation.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Big plans for Bremen alewives in 2011
By Samuel J. Baldwin
There are several projects in the works to help restore alewife passage between Webber Pond and Muscongus Bay in Bremen Bremen
For almost 10 years, Bremen
“Three fish ladders, four years, dozens of sandbags and hundreds of hours later, we can confidently say we know how to get alewives swimming up, into and through the [culverts] and into Webber Pond,” Wilkins wrote in an email to The Lincoln County News. In that effort, Wilkins has been joined by Charlie Baeder and the Sheepscot River Watershed Council in a project to replace the culverts under the two Rt. 32 crossings. Currently, the culverts are too small and smooth-bottomed to allow fish to swim upstream. The groups are working with the Maine Dept. of Transportation and several Maine
Although the project is in its infancy, the SRWC received notice on Dec. 22 that they will receive $150,000 through the Maine Dept. of Environmental Protection, The Nature Conservancy and Army Corps of Engineers. (See story page 2.) They hope to receive a second large grant through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the American Rivers program. SRWC will know about the second grant in March, Baeder said. Should they fail to receive the second grant, there are other funding sources SRWC is prepared to explore. “We’re going to keep at it until it’s through,” Baeder said.
The grant money will be used to provide a 50-50 match with DOT to pay for replacing the culverts, Baeder said. The cost of the project won’t be known until DOT designs the culverts, but the initial estimate for the project is about $250,000 to $300,000 per culvert, Baeder said.
One of the culverts is “rotting out” and needs to be replaced anyway, Baeder said. The other culvert is worse from a fish passage situation. Because DOT and SRWC are splitting the cost of the replacement, DOT agreed to replace both culverts, Baeder said.
Although somewhat pricier than smaller culverts not designed for fish, the replacement cost shouldn’t be affected significantly by the considerations given to fish passage, Baeder said.
“From MDOT’s perspective, this brings in a lot of money that they wouldn’t have had,” Baeder said.
“It’s a way for us to ensure that the culverts are designed to allow fish to pass,” Baeder said.
DOT is currently surveying the two sites, and the design and permitting process will run through the winter, and Baeder hopes for a summer 2011 construction on the two culverts. Should road bumps arise, Baeder said the “worst case scenario” is summer 2012.
For fishermen, this project may be an important step towards ensuring they can continue to harvest fish in Bremen Bremen
Earlier this year, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission passed an amendment to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Shad and Herring. Amendment 2, as it is known, prohibits the taking of river herring in all state waters on the east coast unless a town or state submits a “sustainable management plan,” according to a press release issued by the ASMFC.
The ASMFC defines a sustainable fishery as “a commercial and/or recreational fishery that will not diminish the potential future stock reproduction and recruitment,” according to the press release.
Fish measurements will be taken as soon as culverts are replaced and again in five or so years to demonstrate the impact of this project, Baeder said, and alewife passage into Webber Pond could be a key component for Bremen
Next year, DMR will likely enforce closures of the river herring harvest during key months, in an effort to establish a fishery that will pass the ASMFC definition of sustainable, Keliher said.
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