March 23, 2004

Conservation Planning

A Farmland Preservation Workshop will be held on April 2nd from 9-noon at Alfred Parish Church (Alfred Square across from Leedy's Restaurant) sponsored by Natural Resource Conservation Service and York County Soil & Water Conservation District. This is a free workshop designed for farmers and landowners. Topics include conservation easements, how to enroll in Farm and Open Space Tax Programs, farmland protection tools, and a farmer's experience (Evan McDougal/ Hanson Farm in Sanford) with conservation. If you know landowners who might be interested make sure they know about this presentation. There is no charge and people can register by calling 324-7015.

Our Future by Design is a half day visioning and planning conference on Saturday, April 17th, 2004 (8:30-1:30) at Marshwood High School on Route 236 in South Berwick. The workshop will include guest speakers Governor Baldacci and Evan Richert (former state planner). The event will include small discussion groups focusing on developing solutions to issues of a regional nature for the communities of Kittery, Eliot, York, and South Berwick. The workshop is sponsored by the Community Wellness Coalition. There is no charge but registration is limited. Register on line at the Greater York Region Chamber of Commerce website at Our Future by Design.

Training and Support

The Maine Land Conservation Conference is scheduled for Friday, April 30th and Saturday, May 1 in Midcoast Maine. This year's conference offers thirty workshops on land protection, stewardship, fundraising, organizational management and more. Three field trips are being offered on Friday in addition to a session on "Building Public Trust through Ethical Decision Making" followed by an evening reception. Brochures are available for downloading on the Maine Land Trust Network website. Space is limited in some sessions, so register early. Discounts are available for people from Maine Land Trust Network member organizations as well as for groups from the same organization registering at the same time. Friday's session will be in Jefferson and Saturday's workshop in Rockport at Camden Hills Regional High School. Tin Smith will be heading up for both days if anyone would like to car pool from York County. He will be staying over night at the Towne Motel (236-3377) in Camden.

A one-day course,"GPS for GIS" will be offered on May 6th, 2004 (9:30-4) at the Wells Reserve. Participants will learn how to use Global Positioning System to collect GIS data. This hands-on training walks you through the steps necessary to complete complex (multi-point) projects collecting GPS data using Trimble Pro XR receivers, correct data using Pathfinder Office software, and create mission plans and data dictionaries. The course will be hosted at the Wells Reserve and taught by the UNH Geospatial Technology Training Center. Completing the course will allow the participants to borrow the Trimble Pro XR units from UNH. The cost is $150, space is limited, register by calling Sharon at 603-862-1029.

A 5-day class "Mapping of Maine Natural Resources using ArcView" will be offered on May 10 through 14th. This hands-on course is designed for community decision makers, natural resource professionals and others interested in learning how to use ArcView GIS 3.x software to map natural resources in Maine. Participants will receive a step-by-step manual and data for their Maine community of interest. Participants will have an opportunity to work their own projects with instructor assistance. Familiarity with Windows is recommended. The course will be hosted at the Wells Reserve and taught by the UNH Geospatial Technology Training Center. The cost is $350, space is limited, register by calling Sharon at 603-862-1029.

A one-day "Mapping with Handheld GPS" class is being offered for May 18th (9-4). This Global Positioning System workshop will teach how to collect location information, plot it on USGS topographical maps using Terrain Navigational software, and map points on aerial photographs. Useful for project planning, baseline data, resource and boundary location. The course will be hosted at the Wells Reserve and taught by the UNH Geospatial Technology Training Center. The cost is $95, space is limited, register by calling Sharon at 603-862-1029.

Resource Information

Science in Service to Communities is a one day forum on Thursday, April 8th (8:30-2:30), at the University of New England (Saint Francis Room, Ketchum Library). How science occurring in York County provides a deeper and broader understanding of keeping our coastal environments healthy as our region's population grows. The day features twelve 20 minute presentations of research being conducted by the University of New England, Wells Reserve, Maine Sea Grant, Maine Medical Center, and the University of New Hampshire. The event is free and open to the public. A schedule can be sent to you by e-mailing Dawn Morse or view it online.

Alewives are the topic of a presentation by Naomi Schalit, Executive Director of Maine Rivers, on Tuesday, May 4th, (7 PM) at the Wells Reserve. She will discuss the historic role of native alewife and the importance of restoring these ecologically important fish to Maine's environment. See vintage photographs from the well-known Damariscotta Mills alewife run, as well as contemporary, underwater photographs from National Geographic photographer Bill Curtsinger.

Land Trust Alliance has several sample easement monitoring forms available on LTAnet. These and other sample forms and checklists are available in the new "Managing Conservation Easements InfoPak". This online resource is available to LTAnet users and can be found by clicking on the link on the LTAnet homepage.

Communication and Outreach

Wells Adult Education is offering "Creating PowerPoint Presentations" class on four Monday nights (May 10, 17, 24, and June 7, 6-9 PM). Learn how to use PowerPoint to create effective and impressive multimedia presentations for your job, nonprofit organization or community group. It is a user friendly program used for creating slides, overheads, and handouts. Bring examples of projects to work on. Cost is $45 for the four sessions. Register by calling 646-4565 or visit the Wells Adult Ed website.

A comprehensive two and a half day Project Design and Evaluation course will be hosted at the Wells Reserve from May 18-20th, 2004. How can you be sure your conservation / watershed projects are reaching the right audience and have the right impact? What can you do to make sure outreach efforts go beyond "preaching to the choir"? This course will provide the knowledge, skills, and tools to design and implement projects that have measurable impacts on the intended audience. This interactive curriculum, taught by staff from NOAA's Coastal Service Center, has traveled the country receiving high marks from participants. Cost is $50 and includes lunches and snacks. For an agenda and registration form contact Chris Feurt at the Reserve (646-1555 x111).

Partner Events / News

The Great Works River Watershed Coalition now has a web site. The Coalition has completed its second season of water quality monitoring at 27 sites along the main stem and tributaries. Thirty volunteers contributed 450 hours and used the Noble High School science lab to process samples on Saturdays. Results are on the website. A shoreland survey for the northern part (North Berwick / Sanford) of the watershed is scheduled for May 1st, volunteers needed.

Background

The Watershed Conservation Update is distributed by the Stewardship Department at the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve to provide timely, pertinent, and concise information and resources to volunteers and professionals working on watershed conservation issues in Southern Maine and nearby New Hampshire. The Wells NERR Stewardship Department supports community efforts to conserve natural resources by 1) facilitating collaborations for regional conservation planning, 2) providing access to natural resource information, 3) offering GIS mapping services, 4) promoting training opportunities, 5) providing outreach and communication services and 6) publicizing conservation related events and successes.

For more information or comments contact Tin Smith, visit our website at wellsreserve.org, or call 646-1555 x119.

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