Beaches In Maine

US Environmental Lawsuit Settlement May Impact Maine Shores

A lawsuit settlement that could clear a backlog of 251 plant and animal species being considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act may have consequences in future land use, fishing regulations and energy production along Maine's shores. Under the plan, the federal government agrees to speed up its review process of species being considered for protection and clear the backlog within the next six years.

An initial review of the list shows four critical species found along Maine's shores. Chief among them is the red knot, a migratory bird whose population has crashed as its main food source, horseshoe crab eggs, has become increasingly hard to find. Another species is the New England cottontail, a rabbit that thrives on shrubland that has become scarce in southern Maine. Also included are two species of bats found in Maine, the eastern small-footed bat and the northern long-eared bat, which have been decimated by a mysterious fungal ailment and are considered further threatened by wind turbines.

If these animals gain protection under the Endangered Species Act, the federal government will look for ways to protect them and preserve their habitats. Often, as with the red knot, regulations would not just protect the animal but also safeguard that animal's food source. Red knots depend on horseshoe crab eggs, and are found in great numbers along Cape Cod, where there is still a significant horseshoe crab population. There are both horseshoe crabs and red knots in Maine, but in lesser numbers. Still, Maine provides critical habitat for both species, said Susan Gallo, a wildlife biologist with Maine Audubon. The state is the northern-most point in the range of the crabs. Maine beaches also provide an important feeding stopover for red knots.

Any conservation plan for the red knot also would include preserving the horseshoe crab, a species that has crashed in recent years. "In the past, [horseshoe crabs] were scooped up by bucket loaders and used as fertilizer," said Frank Dorsey, president of Friends of Taunton Bay, a group that has commissioned studies on the prehistoric creatures.

Maine has banned harvest of the creatures from May to October. In the rest of the fall and winter months, the crabs move to deeper water and bury themselves in the mud, making them unattainable. In essence, Maine's half-year ban on harvest is a whole-year ban without the regulation, said Steve Perrin, an executive member of Friends of Taunton Bay.

Maine Ocean Beaches Begin Season In Fine Shape | The Rumford Meteor

Maine Ocean Beaches Begin Season In Fine Shape

AUGUSTA – As beach season begins, scientists from Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection say the state’s storied coastal beaches are clean and safe for swimming.

The department-managed Maine Healthy Beaches program relies on funding from the federal Environmental Protection Agency and staff support from the University of Maine Cooperative Extension/Sea Grant to monitor recreational water quality and protect public health at Maine’s 61 public access beaches, which comprise more than 30 miles of the state’s coastline.

Beaches are monitored weekly by program volunteers, municipal beach managers and state park employees from Memorial Day through Labor Day, with water samples analyzed for the enterococcus bacteria, which is an indication of the presence of fecal contamination from humans and animals including dogs and waterfowl.

When bacteria levels exceed the EPA established limitations, beach managers in conjunction with program staff will post an advisory –or in worst case scenarios, a closure notice– at all major public access points to the beach and online at http://www.mainehealthybeaches.org to discourage recreational contact because of the increased risk of beach users contracting a waterborne illness.

In 2010, the program reported that beach advisory days were down nearly 20 percent from 2009, with 71 water quality events totaling 207 days of posted advisories.

More than half of the 61 beaches had no water quality issues in 2010 that led to an advisory posting. York County, which boasts the most coastal public beaches in the state, had 20 of its 34 beaches always open last year.

79 percent of advisories in 2010 were one-day events, with follow-up testing finding that beach water was safe for swimming.

“Maine takes pride in its beaches and we are very fortunate when it comes to water quality,” said Mark Margerum, director of the Maine Healthy Beaches program. “This program depends on the good work of many local partners and of the stewardship those partners and of public beachgoers to continue to protect that water quality.”

The program has successfully partnered with municipalities and other interested parties to take a proactive approach to identifying and addressing sources of pollution. These special studies can reach far into beach watersheds as rainwater can wash pollutants into rivers and streams before it eventually ends up at the beach.

Frommer's Maine Coast

Maine-ly fun!, great things to do with kids in Maine

Beaches of Maine

Natural states, the environmental imagination in Maine, Oregon, and the nation

Improving Maine's beaches, recommendations of the Southern Maine Beach Stakeholder Group