April 25, 2007
News from the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research Headlines:
UMaine Mercury Research the Focus of EM&T Special Issue
While Acadia National Park is often perceived as remote and pristine, the park's fish and wildlife are vulnerable to mercury contamination that persists throughout North America. New research has documented that fish, amphibians, and even tree swallows from Acadia carry heavy burdens of
mercury.
Now, in a series of papers published in a special issue of the journal Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, a group of researchers, including 11 current and former UMaine scientists, have revealed why concentrations of mercury in the environment are higher in some places than in others.
Using Acadia National Park as an "outdoor laboratory," they traced mercury as it moves from the sky to the mountains of Acadia, down through the forest canopy, and into streams and lakes, where it builds up in fish and wildlife. The research was conducted over seven years, making Acadia one of the most intensively studied areas for mercury in the U.S.
A press release with more is available at:
http://www.umaine.edu/waterresearch/bottom_menu/press.htm.
The EM&T special issue is available on-line at:
http://springerlink.metapress.com/content/1573-2959/
Hard copies of the special issue are available at a cost of $50 from the Mitchell Center. Please call 207/581-3244 for more information.
Save the Date! Mitchell Lecture on the Environment
The inaugural Senator George J. Mitchell Lecture on the Environment will take place on Thursday, September 27, 2007 from 1pm-2:30pm at the University of Maine, Orono.
Our vision for the lecture is to bring together people from across Maine who want a clearer understanding of the environmental challenges and opportunities we face, and to present constructive options that will facilitate a renewed commitment to the development of collaborative approaches to environmental problem-solving.
Our keynote speakers for this event are James Gustave Speth, Dean of the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University and author of the critically acclaimed book, "Red Sky at Morning" and Senator George J. Mitchell.
Tickets are required for the lecture. To reserve tickets, please contact Ruth Hallsworth at 207/581-3196.
Additional information on the event is available at:
http://www.umaine.edu/waterresearch/outreach/Mitchell_lecture.htm
Maine WRRI Grant Program FY08 RFP — Final Call!
The request for pre-proposals from the Maine - USGS Water Research Resources Institute (a program of the Mitchell Center) has been issued. This constitutes the FY08 Maine grants program as authorized by the federal Water Resources Research Act of 1984. This request for pre-proposals is for research and information transfer projects in the areas of water resources and related environmental sciences. The focus for 2008 is related to strengthening of stakeholder involvement in identifying and solving water resource management problems. Projects addressing this focus will be given priority, subject to peer review. Approximately $90,000 (depending on Congressional appropriations) will be awarded following external peer review and selection by a panel of Maine environmental specialists and researchers.
Pre-proposal deadline: Wednesday, May 2, 2007.
Complete guidelines are available at:
http://www.umaine.edu/waterresearch/bottom_menu/wrri_grants.htm
Environmental Solutions Initiative — May 3 Seminar
David Hart, Director, Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research
Environmental Solutions Initiative, Phase II: An implementation plan
The purpose of this final ESI presentation of the spring semester is to review several key principles that we have discussed for linking knowledge to action, and to delineate plans for putting these ideas into practice via on-the-ground interdisciplinary research projects and stakeholder partnerships. David will briefly summarize some of the key messages that we have heard in our meetings with academic experts and regional stakeholders as well as our internal discussions. He will then map out a path forward that is designed to incorporate principles for linking knowledge to action and apply them to the nexus of social, economic, and environmental issues associated with the causes and consequences of land use change in the Lower Penobscot River watershed and bay. The talk will highlight interdisciplinary environmental research that is already underway in the Lower Penobscot and give examples of additional research that is needed to strengthen program integration and enhance the potential for problem-solving. David will also provide specific examples of ways in which faculty, students and outside partners can potentially get involved in this interdisciplinary applied research program, and describe options for near-term and long-term program funding. Finally, he will present a plan for growing ESI’s capacity to address a wide range of environmental problems in Maine, New England, and beyond.
The seminar will take place from 1-3pm in Room 107, Norman Smith Hall, University of Maine, Orono. For directions and parking permits contact Kim Raymond at 207/581-3244.
Refreshments will be served.
For additional information on the Environmental Solutions Initiative go to:
http://www.umaine.edu/waterresearch/esi
Project WET Workshop at UMaine
Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) is an interdisciplinary water science and education program for formal and non-formal educators of k-12 students.
Northern Maine Project WET workshop:
Friday, May 18, 2007, 9am-3pm
Room 107, Norman Smith Hall, UMaine, Orono, ME
Registration fee: $25
Snacks provided. Bring your own lunch.
Workshop Facilitator: Laura Wilson, UMaine Coop. Ext.
Participants will receive:
- The Project WET Curriculum & Activity Guide
- An overview of the resource
- Practice implementation of activities
- Assessment ideas
- 0.6 CEUs available
For more information or to register:
Laura Wilson, 207/581-2971.
Ruth Hallsworth, 207/581-3196.
Web site: http://www.umaine.edu/projectwet
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