Maine Chapter Website

AMC has joined the “locavore” movement by serving locally produced foods at some of its destinations. Foods are purchased from regional suppliers, such as a Vermont supplier for the the Highland Center in Crawford Notch facility. Taking it one step further, or rather one step closer, Camp Dodge in New Hampshire and Little Lyford Lodge and Cabins in Maine have their own gardens that supply some of the hearty fare served at these locations. Freshly picked greens at Madison Hut? Well, not as likely. But the huts make efforts to buy in bulk to reduce packaging waste. Overall, transportation of foods is estimated to account for about 20% of the fossil fuel consumption in the U.S., so eating locally produced foods saves on fuel as well as puts dollars back into the local economy. You can read more in this recent AMC Outdoors article.

September 24th is the 17-year anniversary of National Public Lands Day (NPLD). 700 volunteers at three different public land sites started the effort in 1994, but the effort has grown to 170,000 volunteers at more than 2,080 sites in every state! This birthday is celebrated with service projects on our public lands coordinated by eight federal agencies, nonprofits, and state, regional, and local governments. The day brings awareness to the special character of America’s public lands, the benefits and values they provide to everyone, and the shared stewardship needed to continue their legacy. Volunteers are rewarded with a free entry to the public land of their choice within the next year. To find a local project, please visit their website. There is one in Acadia National Park; a great place to spend a fall day!

A new plan to manage the nation’s 193 million acres in its 155 National Forests is up for debate. By year’s end, the Obama administration hopes to update the 29-year old plan that currently governs our nation’s forests. The updated plan will likely incorporate the new phenomenon of climate change, as well as the latest science for wildlife management and water resources. There are nearly 170 million people a year who recreate in our national Forests, and we spend an estimated $13 billion dollars! For more information, read this article.

More than 76,000 acres of forests, shorelines, mountains, farmlands, and coastal areas were preserved in 22 projects recently approved by the Lane for Maine’s Future Board. A couple of the highlights are nearly 12,000 acres that includes the Crocker Mountains and 9.7 miles of the AT. And over 27,000 acres for Phase III of the Machias River Project. Check out the Land for Maine’s Future webpage for more information, or this press release.

Looking to reduce your carbon footprint? AMC’s “Greener Homes, Cleaner Mountains” campaign may have some advice for you. Pledge to take three actions and prizes including AMC books and stays at AMC destinations could be yours. Sign up to pledge by September 30, 2011, and check out this poster!

Would you like to go to the widely acclaimed Common Ground Country Fair in Unity September 23-25? All you have to do is volunteer to staff the AMC booth for a 3-hour shift on any day. It’s a great way to talk with many AMC members, as well as encourage folks to become members. Or, if you are going to the fair anyway, come visit our booth! The fair has been dubbed “Maine’s most authentic country fair.” Events, vendors, and exhibitors promote conservation and sustainable living while enjoying local, delicious organic food. Contact Matt Colello for more information.

Interested in rare and fragile flowers? Or how about air quality and visual impacts on our summit views? AMC’s “Mountain Watch Program” may be for you! This program turns the ordinary hiker, into a volunteer scientist to collect important data on trends in alpine flowering dates and visibility distances. All in an effort to protect the ecological health of the mountains we all enjoy. There is also a Nature Notes blog to keep up to date on what is in bloom!

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? Where does AMC stand on wind power and how does it make decisions? Is the tradeoff between energy independence and natural vistas a real one? What are the facts about the possibilities and pitfalls of land-based wind power?

Join us on Thursday March 31 to hear a panel of speakers representing environmental groups and the wind industry discussing land-based wind power in Maine and its potential contribution to energy production; its ecological, scenic, and recreational effects; and its relative costs and incentives. The panel is David Publicover, AMC’s Senior Staff Scientist and wind power expert; Ted Koffman, Maine Audubon’s new Executive Director; a representative from First Wind, a developer of Maine wind farms; and moderator Maine State Representative Bob Duchesne, Chair of the legislature’s Natural Resources Committee.

The forum will be structured to be informative, balanced, and fair, and to help members identify the important issues, their relationships, and their tradeoffs. It is co-sponsored by AMC Maine Chapter and Maine Audubon and will be held on Thursday, March 31, 2011 from 7-8:30 pm at Maine Audubon’s Fields Pond Center, 216 Fields Pond Rd, Holden, ME 04429, about 15 minutes south of Bangor. The talk is free and open to the public. For more information download a Flyer_LandBasedWindPower or contact John Mullens

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? Where does AMC stand on wind power and how does it make decisions? Is the tradeoff between energy independence and natural vistas a real one? What are the facts about the possibilities and pitfalls of land-based wind power?

Join us on Thursday March 31 to hear a panel of speakers representing environmental groups and the wind industry discussing land-based wind power in Maine and its potential contribution to energy production; its ecological, scenic, and recreational effects; and its relative costs and incentives. The panel is David Publicover, AMC’s Senior Staff Scientist and wind power expert; Ted Koffman, Maine Audubon’s new Executive Director; a representative from First Wind, a developer of Maine wind farms; and moderator Maine State Representative Bob Duchesne, Chair of the legislature’s Natural Resources Committee.

The forum will be structured to be informative, balanced, and fair, and to help members identify the important issues, their relationships, and their tradeoffs. It is co-sponsored by AMC Maine Chapter and Maine Audubon and will be held on Thursday, March 31, 2011 from 7-8:30 pm at Maine Audubon’s Fields Pond Center, 216 Fields Pond Rd, Holden, ME 04429, about 15 minutes south of Bangor. The talk is free and open to the public. or more information download a flyer (76KB PDF) or contact John Mullens

Registration is now open for the 2011 AMC Annual Meeting! The meeting will be held on Saturday, January 29, 2011, at the Sheraton Ferncroft Resort in Danvers, Massachusetts. There will be workshops and committee meetings as well as volunteer award recipient presentations during the day, and then a dinner, business meeting, and presentation in the evening. This year’s Keynote Speaker is Dr. Char Miller, an award winning author and U.S. Forest Service history expert. He is the author of the award-winning Gifford Pinchot and the Making of Modern Environmentalism and Ground Work: Conservation in American Culture. Registration information is available at this website. If you have any questions regarding the 2010 134th Annual Meeting, please call Cindy Martell, Event & Office Coordinator, at 617-391-6603, or e-mail her at cmar...@outdoors.org.