Maine Chapter Website

Are you a shutterbug? Here’s your chance to share your images with your fellow AMC members! The AMC’s 17th Annual Photo Contest has been announced for 2011. And although the deadline isn’t until November 15, photography is a year-round sport! This is a great opportunity to show others your work and possibly have your images become part of the AMC’s print and online publications. Photo submissions may be made in three categories including (1) Kids, Families, and Adults Outdoors; (2) Scenics and Nature; (3) AMC in Action. Up to three submissions may be made in each category. This year’s Grand Prize winner will receive a spot in an upcoming photography workshop and an accompanying stay at an AMC destination. Category winners will receive prizes from Black Diamond, Deuter, Merrell, and Outdoor Research. For more information including contest rules, visit the AMC photo contest website or e-mail amcp...@outdoors.org

Ruth (Sam) Jamke, a veteran hiker and hike leader, will talk about tramping in New Zealand, home to the largest national park system in the southern hemisphere. Sam, who has backpacked the four most famous routes in the country, will describe these adventurous treks and narrate fabulous pictures of the enchanting land where the “Lord of the Rings” movies were filmed. Sam’s talk in Freeport is on Tuesday, October 25th. Join us for a potluck dinner that evening just prior to the talk at the Freeport Community Library, 10 Library Rd in Freeport, 04032. The dinner begins at 6pm; the presentation at 7pm. Bring a potluck item to share and your own dinnerware (plate, utensils etc.). Drinks will be available. Parking is free and plentiful. For more information, please download a flyer (136 KB PDF) or email Education Chair John Mullens All events are free and open to the public.

The Telluride Mountainfilm Festival World Tour is returning to Portland on Friday October 21st at the Hannaford Theater at the University of Southern Maine. The ninth year of this film festival will feature two hours of magnificent cinematography of skiing, climbing, kayaking, mountain culture, the environment, and more and is produced by some of the world’s best outdoor cinematographers. The shows starts at 7:00PM. Tickets are available at EMS and Nomands in Portland, and Horny Toad in Freeport, or at the door. Visit the web site for a more information or email. continue

Dr. William Beardsley, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Conservation, will talk on the direction of the LePage Administration, the Department of Conservation’s role as part of the Administration, and the role of non-profit conservation organizations. Beardsley believes that Maine’s economic vitality and conservation are not only interlinked, but can prosper together. The Commissioner also chairs the state panel that is studying the future of land-use regulation in the 10 million acres of unorganized territory. The Commissioner’s talk is co-sponsored by Maine Audubon and the Maine Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club. Commissioner Beardsley will address the chapter and take questions in the meeting room of Maine Audubon’s Fields Pond Center, 216 Fields Pond Rd, Holden, ME 04429, about 15 minutes south of Bangor. His talk will begin at 7:00 pm and is free and open to the public. For more information, download a flyer (92 KB PDF) or email Education Chair John Mullens or Audubon Naturalist Holly Twining.

The deadline to register is a only days away! Please sign-up by Sunday, October 16. Forms are available in the latest issue of our newsletter “Wilderness Matters” and on our website. Join fellow Maine AMCers and meet new faces for a weekend full of activities on the shores of Damariscotta Lake in Nobleboro at Camp Kieve. This is in the heart of the mid-coast region of Maine and nearby Camden Hills State Park! Enjoy hikes, bikes, paddles, as well as workshops! Come Friday night for a provided chili-dinner, select an activity for Saturday, and enjoy a dinner and guest speak Saturday evening. There will also be some activities on Sunday. Please visit our web page for more information. See you all there!

On Tuesday October 25, attend an online volunteer presenter training for AMC’s Energy Conservation and Action for Climate Change Program. This training helps presenters put these concepts in simple terms for audiences aged kindergarten and up. Preview sample presentations, receive access to background materials, and ask questions of experienced presenters. This webinar training takes 90 minutes. Contact Faith Salter for details.

The Forest Society of Maine (FSM), in conjunction with the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands (BPL), under the Maine Department of Conservation, will host a clean-up day next month on Big Spencer Mountain, off Moosehead Lake’s eastern shore.The two organizations are looking for 10 volunteers to help with removing non-burnable materials from an old fire-ranger cabin site.The clean-up day will be held from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Friday, Oct. 14. continue

In 1990, Bill Irwin and his dog Orient left Springer Mountain in Georgia seeking Mt. Katahdin in Maine via the Appalachian Trail. There is something you should know about each of them; Bill is blind and Orient is his seeing eye dog. 2,168 miles, eight and a half months later and thousands of bumps along the way, their journey on the AT was complete. Bill will speak at Trinity Episcopal Church in Portland on Friday October 7 beginning at 7PM. Please see this flyer (384 KB PDF) for more information.

Jennifer and Trevor Seip are living their dream—off the grid in a small structure with modern conveniences. They will explain their choices of alternative energy sources, alternative structures, local agriculture, and homesteading. Their early successes, future plans, and contagious enthusiasm will surely pique your interest. continue

Is it possible to develop land-based wind power as a renewable energy source for Maine while protecting the state’s ecological health, natural heritage, and scenic beauty? Join us to hear a panel of scientists, an environmentalist, and a wind industry representative to discuss wind as an energy source and all that it may entail, controversial and otherwise. continue