The Wrack

Friends and staff of four National Estuarine Research Reserves — Wells, Great Bay, Waquoit, and Narragansett —are expected to line the banks of the Little River over the weekend for Bleachers on the Estuary.

Removing a small dam from Goff Mill Brook in Arundel reconnects seven miles of stream habitat to the estuary, benefiting brook trout, other migratory and freshwater fish, and the watershed’s ecology.

Jeremy Miller, research associate at the Wells Reserve at Laudholm, is no stranger to Wells Harbor. But recently he saw something he'd never seen before. Or at least, he thought he did.

The Wells Reserve at Laudholm has become the first nonprofit in Maine to meet 100 percent of its electricity needs with solar energy, with 248 solar panels that are expected to generate 73,000 kilowatt-hours of electrical energy while preventing 45 tons of carbon from entering the atmosphere each year.

WELLS, Maine, December 8, 2014 — Scientists from around New England met at the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve on December 5 for a workshop focused on “blue carbon” science and policy. For the first time, scientists from throughout the region gathered to share research results, identify gaps in knowledge, and plan future collaborations involving carbon in coastal habitats.

The term “blue carbon” refers to the ability of salt marshes, seagrass meadows, and mangrove forests to take up and store carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Coastal wetlands capture carbon and store it at rates even greater than rainforests.

“Carbon held naturally in coastal wetlands is not entering the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas, so these habitats have real potential to mitigate climate change,” said Dr. Kristin Wilson, Wells Reserve research director, who co-coordinated the workshop.

A wild turkey of the species Meleagris gallopavo has been hired as the new president of Laudholm Trust, the local nonprofit partner of the Wells Reserve at Laudholm, according to Goose Read, chairman of the Trust's Brood of Defectors.

WELLS, Maine, May 21, 2013 — York County Master Gardeners and the Wells Reserve at Laudholm are offering local gardeners several opportunities to improve their knowledge and skills around their home gardening through a series of workshops this summer at the new All Seasons Garden at the reserve.

All Seasons Garden workshops begin with Sheet Mulching and Home Composting on May 30 and continue with Drip Irrigation on June 4, Yardscaping on June 19, and Four-Season Gardening on August 29. Each two-hour, hands-on workshop begins at 6pm and costs $7 ($5 for members of Laudholm Trust). A special noontime brown-bag talk on Three Sisters Gardening and Companion Planting will be offered June 12 for a $2 suggested donation. See wellsreserve.org/calendar for details and to register in advance for each evening workshop.

For the second time in less than a year, the Town of Wells and the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve have teamed up to protect a key parcel of land in the Merriland River watershed.

The 61-acre Highpine Properties parcel consists of forested wetlands, vernal pools, and the headwater streams of the Merriland River. The undeveloped tract has 100 feet of frontage on the Sanford Road (Route 109) and is nestled into the 700-acre Fenderson Wildlife Commons, a designated town conservation area. Protecting the Highpine parcel adds to one of the largest blocks of unfragmented conservation land in southern Maine.

Dr. Christine B. Feurt, coordinator of the Coastal Training Program at the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR), was presented with the 2012 NERR System and NERR Association Award at the annual NERRS/NERRA meeting held in West Virginia in November. The award is given annually to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the reserve system.

WELLS, Maine, October 29, 2012 — The Town of Wells has begun a two-year study to understand and prepare for the potential impacts of climate change. Wells public officials and local residents, with help from researchers from the Consensus Building Institute (CBI), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS), will be using short games played face-to-face in community meetings to clarify possible climate change risks and to reach agreement on appropriate adaptation measures.