Marine Program
Worldwide ocean management is undergoing a major transition in response to profound losses, new understandings, and emerging threats. The shift towards “ecosystem management” has created unprecedented opportunities for coastal communities to participate in the stewardship of local marine areas and resources. In the Gulf of Maine, QLF has been advancing the emergence community-based management through several interconnected initiatives at local, regional and international scales including: the Muscongus Bay project, the Marine Area Characterizations project, and Place-Based Education at the Warren Community School.
Morgan King (right), a 2004-05 QLF Intern hosted by the Friends of the Medomak Watershed, shows Michele Walsh, QLF's 2004-05 Marine Program coordinator, how to collect estuarine water samples for processing by Maine's Department of Environmental Protection. Photograph by Jen Atkinson
Summer Questing Institute
QLF's Marine Program in Waldoboro, Maine is now accepting applications for its Summer Questing Institute for educators. As part of the Questing to Learn: Connecting School, Kids & Communities program, this 3.5-day training will take place at the University of Maine’s Darling Marine Center in Walpole, Maine from July 27 to 30, 2010. Download a program brochure to learn more about this exciting place-based education program or download an application form if you are interested in attending the Summer Questing Institute. After April 30, please contact QLF's Waldoboro Field Desk before applying at 207.832.8109 or astires@qlf.org.
Download Questing Program Brochure (.pdf) »
Download Questing Application Form (.pdf) »
Download Questing Application Form (Word.doc) »
MidCoast Quests
St. Patrick's Church Quest (Newcastle - 15 minutes) (created by Caroline Harris)
Discover the features that connect you to the history of the oldest Catholic Church in New England. Download pdf »
Mills Overlook Trail Quest (Damariscotta - 30 minutes) (created by Caroline Harris)
This short one-mile loop winds through part of the Damariscotta River Association's Great Salt Bay Preserve. It starts across from St. Patrick’s Church and heads towards the Mills Alewives Fish Ladder. Download pdf »
Shell Middens Quest (Damariscotta - 30 minutes) ( created by Caroline Harris)
A whole new way to enjoy the Whaleback Shell Midden State Historic Site.
Download pdf »
Medomak: River of Many Alewives (45 minutes - Waldoboro, ME)
Learn about human impacts on the Medomak River estuary.
Download pdf »
The River of Stories (45 minutes - Waldoboro, ME)
Discover past and present uses of the Medomak River estuary.
Download pdf »
News
April 2010
The Muscongus Bay Atlas Exhibit concludes its tour of the region this month, stopping for one last opening Saturday, April 10, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm in the Warren Community School.
During the exhibit opening, Warren residents will speak briefly about Warren’s eagles and alewives and highlight some of the current work of local groups. Also Jennifer Atkinson, Director of the Quebec-Labrador Foundation’s Marine Program will give an overview of the atlas project. There will be light refreshments on hand and ample opportunity to view and discuss the maps.
The exhibit opening represents a collaborative planning effort among the QLF’s Marine Program in Waldoboro and a number of local groups and residents who joined in to make this event possible. They include: Georges River Land Trust, Warren Community School, Warren Free Public Library, Warren True Value, Damariscotta Bank & Trust, Warren Historical Society, University of Maine Cooperative Extension in Knox & Lincoln Counties, Mid-Coast Audubon Society, Trout Unlimited, and local business owners.
Following the opening, the maps will be displayed in various public sites around town for the remainder of April – Warren True Value, Warren Community School, Warren Free Public Library, and the Warren branch of Damariscotta Bank & Trust – to allow residents more opportunities to view the maps during their daily rounds and weekend errands.
For more information about the exhibit, contact Amanda LaBelle (alabelle@qlf.org).
February 2010
The Muscongus Bay Atlas Exhibit opens in Cushing, Maine Friday, February 26, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm in the public library and the community center multipurpose room.
More info »
January 2010
QLF's Muscongus Bay Project now has a Facebook Page with news and photos about our work, the bay region and the trends and issues that concern us. Become a Fan of the “Muscongus Bay Project”.
The Muscongus Bay Atlas Exhibit, nearing the end of its tour of the region, kicks off 2010 in South Thomaston, Maine. The exhibit opens Friday, January 8th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm in the Wessaweskeag Historical Society meeting room in the red schoolhouse at Dublin Road and Elm Street.
The exhibit opening represents a collaborative planning effort among the
QLF’s Marine Program in Waldoboro and a number of other local groups and residents who joined in to make this event possible. They include: Friends of the Weskeag, Georges River Land Trust, Georges River Tidewater Association, Hoggy’s, South Thomaston Public Library, Spruce Head Post Office, Town of South Thomaston, and the Wessaweskeag Historical Society.
In the days following the opening, the maps will be displayed various public areas around town - Hoggy’s, South Thomaston Public Library, South Thomaston Town Office, and the Spruce Head Post Office - to allow residents more opportunities to view the maps during their daily rounds and weekend errands.
For more information about the exhibit, contact Amanda LaBelle:
alabelle@qlf.org.
December 2009
QLF's Muscongus Bay Project is now on Twitter providing news of our programs, the bay region and the trends and issues that concern us. Follow us at “MuscongusBay”.
QLF's Marine Program recently completed a six-month contract providing community outreach services to the State of Maine for its siting of deepwater, offshore wind energy demonstration areas. From June to December, 2009 QLF helped to organize over 30 community and regional meetings from Cutler to York, ME. The sites selected by the State are now posted at: http://www.maine.gov/doc/initiatives/oceanenergy/oceanenergy.shtml
November 2009
On November 13th QLF's Marine program will host "Muscongus Bay Circulation Meeting: Research Questions & Approaches" a half-day workshop for scientists, educators and fishermen. At this meeting we will review the results of our field test of Cobscook Bay's method for studying circulation patterns and explore the potential for conducting a full-scale circulation study in Muscongus Bay.
October 2009
The Atlases as back!! The Marine Program's popular Muscongus Bay Atlas, produced in partnership with QLF's Center for Community GIS, have been reprinted and are back on the shelves of local bookstores.
Muscongus Bay classroom's are Questing! All 12 of the region's teachers who participated in our Summer Questing Institute have begun the classroom Questing process. This year, classrooms from South Bristol to Thomaston will create Quests that tell local stories about water quality, river restoration, or coastal ecology.
September 2009
This summer the Muscongus Bay Atlas Exhibit traveled to Bremen, ME in August and Monhegan, ME in September for a few weeks each. Well-attended openings were held at the Bremen Town House on August 18th and the Monhegan Museum on September 12th. Planning is now underway for late autumn exhibits in South Thomaston and Warren.
Marine Program Publications
Seascapes - Getting to Know the Sea Around Us. A Guide to Characterizing the Marine and Coastal Areas. A publication of QLF's Marine Program based in the Gulf of Maine.
Muscongus Bay Atlas. Containing 23, full-sized, annotated GIS map images based on over 150 data layers, this original QLF publication illustrates the great variety of uses and environmental features of the Muscongus Bay region in Midcoast, Maine.
An Evaluation of the Warren Community School CO-SEED Site: The final report on the results of a three-year place-based education partnership between QLF's Marine Program, Antioch New England Institute, and the Warren Community School in Maine's Muscongus Bay Region.
An Environmental Bibliography of Muscongus Bay, Maine: Originally produced by QLF's Marine Program in 2005, this online publication has recently been updated with a number of articles both recent and past. Containing 125 lisitings dating from 1921 to 2008, this is the only known compilation of scientific research for this bay region.
Engaging stakeholders in community-based conservation: Findings from Downeast Maine and the Bay of Fundy. Results of a 2007-2008 study by two MIT graduate students conducted for the Nearshore Ecosystem Collaborative (NEC). This is a new partnership between QLF, MIT-USGS Science Impact Collaborative, and Ecological Policy Design forged to develop a replicable, community and science-based process for learning how discrete nearshore systems function in the Gulf of Maine.
Final Summary - Muscongus Bay Ecosystem Composition Workshop. A seven-page document describing the results of a one-day workshop held in Waldoboro, Maine in December, 2008 to gather and share scientific insights about the core features that both define Muscongus Bay and influence how it functions.