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Citizen And Community Science Approaches To Understanding Changes In Coastal Habitats Using Anecdata.Org, Alexis Garretson, Cait Bailey, Ashley Taylor, Alexis Dabulewicz, Beth Bisson, Nathan Dorn, K. Kaczor, Mary Ann Nahf, Hannah Webber, Mark Whiting, Jane Disney Dec 2023

Citizen And Community Science Approaches To Understanding Changes In Coastal Habitats Using Anecdata.Org, Alexis Garretson, Cait Bailey, Ashley Taylor, Alexis Dabulewicz, Beth Bisson, Nathan Dorn, K. Kaczor, Mary Ann Nahf, Hannah Webber, Mark Whiting, Jane Disney

Maine Policy Review

Coastal ecosystems are facing increasing threats from human activities and environmental changes. Climate change, in particular, presents challenges for policymaking as it is causing significant changes to the oceans and coastlines, with social, economic, and environmental impacts on coastal communities. However, there is often a lack of data at the appropriate scales to address these concerns. Online tools that support the collection of citizen science and community science data can provide stakeholders and policymakers with a wealth of information and data on ocean-related topics, such as water quality, marine biodiversity, and ocean health. Citizen science platforms, like Anecdata.org, can facilitate …


New Office Supports Maine Climate Action, Parker Gassett, Ivan Fernandez Jan 2023

New Office Supports Maine Climate Action, Parker Gassett, Ivan Fernandez

Maine Policy Review

Expanding and expediting access to climate change information can improve collective action outcomes. Accordingly, the Maine Climate Action Plan called for the creation of an information-coordinating hub, to enable effective and efficient use of climate information in Maine’s climate change response. To aid that need, the University of Maine created the Maine Climate Science Information Exchange (MCSIE) office as a gateway to information about climate-relevant research, the scientists conducting that research, and the most recent data and applied science efforts relating to Maine’s climate change strategies. The office was established in 2023, after a year of developing prototypes of the …


Community Science In Support Of Ecosystem-Based Management: A Case Study From The Damariscotta River Estuary, Maine, Usa, Sarah C. Risley, Kara E. Pellowe, Melissa L. Britsch, Meredith M. White, Heather M. Leslie Jan 2023

Community Science In Support Of Ecosystem-Based Management: A Case Study From The Damariscotta River Estuary, Maine, Usa, Sarah C. Risley, Kara E. Pellowe, Melissa L. Britsch, Meredith M. White, Heather M. Leslie

Maine Policy Review

Coastal marine ecosystems are dynamic social-ecological systems (SESs) that support diverse ecosystem services and human activities. The complexity of SESs means that ecosystem-based approaches are increasingly used to support coastal marine ecosystem stewardship. We report how a community science program in Maine, USA offers a model of organizational innovation to expand capacities for shellfish research and management. Since 2019, we have collaborated with local students, shellfish harvesters, and others in data collection, interpretation, and application, contributing to local shellfish management and ecosystem sustainability. We demonstrate how community-based social and ecological research can build adaptive capacities by centering local knowledge; generating …


Examining The Experiences Of Small, Independent Grocers During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jamie Picardy, Lisa Luken, Iris Michaud, Martha Lefebvre Jan 2022

Examining The Experiences Of Small, Independent Grocers During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jamie Picardy, Lisa Luken, Iris Michaud, Martha Lefebvre

Maine Policy Review

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed existing vulnerabilities across various sectors of the economy and society. Disruptions to the food chain have been common during the pandemic, resulting in empty shelves at grocery stores and modifications to consumer culture. Within this study, we examined resilience (characterized by flexibility, diversity, redundancy, adaptability, innovation, self-reliance and infrastructure) of small, independent grocery stores in Maine.


Forest Policies And Adaptation To Climate Change In Maine: Stakeholder Perceptions And Recommendations, Alyssa R. Soucy, Sandra De Urioste-Stone, Ivan J. Fernandez, Aaron Weiskittel, Parinaz Rahimzadeh-Bajgiran, Tom Doak Jan 2021

Forest Policies And Adaptation To Climate Change In Maine: Stakeholder Perceptions And Recommendations, Alyssa R. Soucy, Sandra De Urioste-Stone, Ivan J. Fernandez, Aaron Weiskittel, Parinaz Rahimzadeh-Bajgiran, Tom Doak

Maine Policy Review

Socioeconomic pressures require forest management to address the impacts of climate change. However, we must ask, Are current forest policies sufficient to deal with the impacts of climate change? Here, we report on two surveys of forest stakeholders in Maine including woodlot owners and forestry professionals and discuss their perceptions of the barriers to climate change adaptation. We conclude with several policy directions including reevaluating existing policies, expanding incentivebased policies, integrating adaptation efforts into mitigation efforts, and increasing communication and outreach.


From Wilderness To Timberland To Vacationland To Ecosystem: Maine’S Forests, 1820–2020, Lloyd C. Irland Jan 2020

From Wilderness To Timberland To Vacationland To Ecosystem: Maine’S Forests, 1820–2020, Lloyd C. Irland

Maine Policy Review

The 200 years since Maine statehood span a series of changing metaphors used by people to understand the forest and its values: the forest as wilderness, as timberland, as vacationland, and as ecosystem. These metaphors have succeeded each other over time, but broadly speaking, they all persist to one degree or another. These ways of viewing and using the forest can conflict or can come to uneasy truces, but new developments can revive the tensions. Public policy is always well behind the shifting needs as timberland comes to be seen as vacationland and vacationland as ecosystem. Further, conflicts between different …


Finding Untapped Opportunities In Forests, Linda Silka Jan 2014

Finding Untapped Opportunities In Forests, Linda Silka

Maine Policy Review

Opportunities for innovation in forests in Maine and elsewhere are discussed, including forest bioproducts research at the University of Maine.


Place-Based Approaches To Alternative Energy: The Potential For Forest And Grass Biomass For Aroostook County, Jason Johnston, Soraya Cardenas Jan 2012

Place-Based Approaches To Alternative Energy: The Potential For Forest And Grass Biomass For Aroostook County, Jason Johnston, Soraya Cardenas

Maine Policy Review

Teams at the University of Maine Presque Isle and the University of Maine at Forth Kent are engaged in evaluating the potential for forest and grass biomass energy in Aroostook County, funded through Maine’s Sustainability Solutions Initiative. The article discusses how this potential is being evaluated and the possible ways in which expanding grass and wood biomass might benefit farmers and residents of The County. It suggests that using some of Maine’s farmland for fuel might be sustainable with appropriate management and with consideration for potential environmental and socioeconomic drawbacks


Challenges To Food Access Among Lewiston’S African Immigrants, Michelle Vasquez Jacobus, Reza Jalali Jan 2011

Challenges To Food Access Among Lewiston’S African Immigrants, Michelle Vasquez Jacobus, Reza Jalali

Maine Policy Review

Michelle Vasquez Jacobus and Reza Jelali present a case study of challenges to food access among African immigrants in Lewiston, Maine


Toward A Working- Waterfront Ethic: Preserving Access To Maine’S Coastal Economy, Heritage, And Local Seafood, Robert Snyder Jan 2011

Toward A Working- Waterfront Ethic: Preserving Access To Maine’S Coastal Economy, Heritage, And Local Seafood, Robert Snyder

Maine Policy Review

Maine has one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world, one for which people are willing to pay a premium. But for Maine fisherman, the coast is how they access their liveli­hood. In 2002 only 25 miles of Maine’s 5,300-mile coastline supported working-waterfront access. This article discusses creative and innovative strategies to preserve Maine’s working waterfront, including current-use taxation, purchase of development rights, and community-supported fisheries (CSF).


Local Food For Lewiston: Exploring The Role Of Food Assessment As Part Of Broader Work In Community-Engaged Food Systems, Kirsten Walter Jan 2011

Local Food For Lewiston: Exploring The Role Of Food Assessment As Part Of Broader Work In Community-Engaged Food Systems, Kirsten Walter

Maine Policy Review

Kirsten Walter’s case study discusses the community food assessment in Lewiston, Maine and the recommendations stemming from it.


Franklin County: Agriculture As A “Sleeping Giant”, Tanya Swain Jan 2011

Franklin County: Agriculture As A “Sleeping Giant”, Tanya Swain

Maine Policy Review

Franklin County, Maine was once a major farming area. This case study describes efforts underway to revive and grow agriculture in this rural area in the state’s western mountains


Forging A Common Vision For Maine’S North Woods, Robert J. Lilieholm Jan 2007

Forging A Common Vision For Maine’S North Woods, Robert J. Lilieholm

Maine Policy Review

Robert Lilieholm takes stock of the challenges and opportunities facing Maine’s North Woods, the largest undeveloped forested block in the eastern United States. In the face of changing ownership patterns and development pressures, there is lively debate over current land use policies and trends. Lilieholm suggests that a broader, regional vision for the North Woods might better serve the long-term interests of both the area’s forests and its struggling communities.


Alternative Large-Scale Conservation Visions For Northern Maine: Interviews With Decision Leaders In Maine, Elizabeth Dennis Baldwin, Laura S. Kenefic, Will F. Lapage Jan 2007

Alternative Large-Scale Conservation Visions For Northern Maine: Interviews With Decision Leaders In Maine, Elizabeth Dennis Baldwin, Laura S. Kenefic, Will F. Lapage

Maine Policy Review

Based on confidential interviews with 21 decision leaders in Maine, Elizabeth Baldwin, Laura Kenefic, and Will LaPage examine the complexity of the conflicts over alternate visions for large-scale conservation in Maine. Exploring models that may be useful for policymakers grappling with competing values for Maine’s forests, they present four alternatives: national forests, new U.S. forest service models, forest heritage areas, and the British national park model. The authors found that the leaders interviewed agreed about the need for some level of conservation, but did not completely agree on how this might happen and where the decision-making power should lie.


Forest Policy Is Hard, Lloyd C. Irland Jan 1996

Forest Policy Is Hard, Lloyd C. Irland

Maine Policy Review

No abstract provided.


Dynamic Tension: An Analysis Of What Happened With The Forestry Referendum And Where We Go From Here, Mitch Lansky Jan 1996

Dynamic Tension: An Analysis Of What Happened With The Forestry Referendum And Where We Go From Here, Mitch Lansky

Maine Policy Review

No abstract provided.