This web site was designed to provide information on vernal pools for the people of Maine.
You will find a variety of resources on vernal pool ecology, the animals that breed in and use vernal pools, an explanation of state and federal regulations pertaining to vernal pools, and materials developed to assist you with field assessments and local mapping projects.
  This summer a team of economists and wildlife biologists from the University of Maine, Boston University, and Bowdoin College submitted a research proposal to the National Science Foundation’s Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems program to continue our work to find innovative ways to help communities conserve vernal pools AND foster municipal economic vitality. If funded, our research team will work on developing modeling-based decision-support tools that will help towns think creatively about accommodating future development and conserving vernal pool resources. These tools would allow towns to enter different management or regulatory scenarios and look at how those would affect vernal pools and town development patterns. We hope this will allow for tailored, town –specific solutions to managing natural resources for both wildlife and humans in Maine communities and that the method will serve as a model for other natural resources beyond Maine. If this research is funded, our team looks forward to expanding the body of science on vernal pools and in broadening our engagement with stakeholders.
Plum Creek Foresters Work to Identify and Protect Vernal Pools
 MPBN Special
Pools of Life Video
Maine Municipal Guide to Mapping and Conserving Vernal Pool Resources
|
